


BAST

by NightingalesTreacle



Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Cats, F/M, Goddesses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-20 07:55:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 59,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17618489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightingalesTreacle/pseuds/NightingalesTreacle
Summary: Following a more sped up version of Death Note's Kira case, with many changes. Contains spoilers.BAST is a hacker with morals still in question, but L is willing to overlook this until the Kira case is solved.She's a chameleon of a girl who claims to be the reincarnation of the Egyptian cat goddess and while he doesn't want to believe something so outlandish, her abilities make doubting her difficult.Contains Mature Content.UPDATE: Deviantart's tinselswan has just finished her painting of Bast I commissioned! If you would like to see the detailed version (http://tinselswan.deviantart.com/).





	1. He Who Strikes First Wins

Chisuzu was already in the Kanto region when it started happening. She was sitting just outside a café, sipping her now lukewarm coffee as she leveled up against someone five levels above her in an MMORPG called 'The First Strike'. The level didn't matter to her as much as their gear did and even then, she still had a strategy over them.

The broadcast happened as she was collecting her experience points. There was power in news announcements and it showed as the usual buzz around her hushed almost instantly. Many quit moving entirely as they stared at the large screen.

'Lind L. Taylor. L?' Her confusion followed the words as she listened to him. It was undeniably something L would say...and yet, she somehow doubted he would show his face so easily.

She had them on a pedestal, having been following their work since before the BB murder case, keeping up only through the hacking skills she had picked up in her youth.

Her eyes widened when he started clutching his chest and moaning before he stopped moving and was carted off by suits. Nobody else had even been there with him.

And then the L came up and her shock morphed into a proud little grin.

'That's better.'

She could hardly contain her glee when he continued to inform Kira that he knew he was in the Kanto region.

As soon as the message had ended, the sound started again, an endless whirr of life. The girl found it both fascinating and overbearing.

It was time to go home.

With her head down, eyes pensive, and laptop secured in her shoulder bag, she took the next bus home. Her body itched in a way she couldn't scratch until she made it into her house and closed the door, yanking her braided brunette wig from her head but leaving her contacts in for now. Her head was newly surrounded by a frizzy white cloud of hair as she kicked off her shoes, feeling less tense now that she was home.

The meows that greeted her return were true music. It was likely anyone else would label her a 'crazy cat lady' with how many felines that came and went from her residence. With how society was, this was not a view she would blame them for.

"I'm home, everyone." She sighed, a purr of her own almost slipping as she took a moment to just recline on her couch and let them all rush to push their furry heads against her arms affectionately while others did that nearly demanding weaving between her legs.

After soaking up the love of her housemates, she turned on her laptop. Chisuzu was already well informed about this new case and hacked the files to view all the updated information. They were suspecting it was a student.

'If this was true, then they'll begin suspecting students of the police investigating first.' Going through it all, this guy just needed a name and a face.

She had known they killed criminals, but to strike out at a possible threat to their goal...it was like they were a kid. All of this would be proven if they started trying to make the authorities think otherwise.

"I'm going to need a favor." She muttered, scratching behind a mackerel tabby's ear.

'I might even be able to meet L soon.' She considered with a smile as she idly changed into a yukata. Chisuzu had left a little signature like she usually did when she accessed his stuff just for that purpose.

She needed sleep now, though, as she had recently finished up a medium intensity case in another area. It had been rather exhausting and all she really wanted to do now was sleep.

Later on, there was this incessant buzzing and the sleeping woman stirred and yawned. When she moved she peered over at her laptop; the source. It hadn't been stepped on by one of her cats since most of them were sleeping, making the room look like a cat haven.

With another yawn, she pushed the remainder of the closet door open and rolled from her perch on its top shelf to the ground, landing carefully as to not crush any of the resting felines. Chisuzu tiptoed around them as if they were all furry little mines, touching one only to lift her and set her down on her lap like an old style movie villain.

She was getting a call.

'No.' She frowned groggily, leaning back one the couch and shutting her eyes once more. As if it had heard her, there was a force acceptance of the call, the sound stopping.

"Bast." Her eyes popped open and dropped to the device. There was an L on the screen and she stared at for a while before realizing it really was him. It had to be with the way his voice distorted and how he had managed to get into her laptop in the first place.

"L."

"Good evening." Was it? She checked around at her clock and, sure enough, it was only ten in the evening. She had slept for four hours.

"So it is. Good evening." Talk about a nice little catnap.

"Did I wake you?" The question was unnaturally normal but considerate.

"Yes, but it's alright. I needed to get up anyway." She had fallen asleep with her contact lenses in.

Not worrying that he might see her through her camera (the lens had paper taped over it), she began to meticulously pluck them off her eyes and place them into their protective case.

"You've been bored lately. You usually have a major case going on, but your last one must not have been all that stimulating. Just a day after solving it, you already searched police data files for an update on my investigation."

Nodding absentmindedly at his words, she adjusted her yukata and proceeded to pet the snoozing creature in her lap. Now that he's finally contacted her, would it be to invite her to accompany him on the case?

"How have you been liking Tokyo?" She asked with honest curiosity as she picked up her hair brush and began carefully running it through her hair. It only seemed like him to move here as he worked on the case.

"It has been fine, thank you," They responded after a pause.

"Really? Good. For many, it is too densely populated."

"I see. Do you agree with what you've read of the Kira case?" Of course, they would divert back to the case.

"Yes."

"Do you have anything to add?"

"Not at the moment. Check back with me later and I might have more." She murmured and the logo dissipated.

Chisuzu had fallen asleep again before her head hit the couch.

 

[[The To-Oh Entrance Ceremony]]

 

Neither had told the other about their plan to be there. Chisuzu wanted to meet the main suspect, a man she felt to be Kira, Light Yagami.

She had seen all the footage from Ray Penber's untimely demise and learned of Naomi Misora's as well. Penber had been tailing Light and his fiance had gone looking for answers and fallen into Kira's trap. Donning brunette hair, brown color contacts, an equally less obvious outfit, she went down to the main base and asked about Naomi. If Naomi had been targeted it was likely to have been because she had found a lead that was a threat to Kira's goal. L had gone off and hooked up surveillance cameras and wiretaps in the suspected houses and Chisuzu had taken it upon herself to ask around at the police station on the off chance she had arrived at the same time Kira had.

Even when she had found the people who had worked the day Misora had gone missing and confirmed her being there the same time as Light Yagami, it had only served to increase her suspicion of him.

Her regular reports thus far had come up empty handed and although it was frustrating, she was not discouraged.

It was too early for that.

There was also no way in Hell she was going to participate in the exams themselves with so many people around, so she went in during the ceremony, knowing Light would be there.

However, the other man had stolen the show. He was odd, quirky even if the way he held the paper he read from attested to anything. His name had been the real kicker.

'Hideki Ryuga?' She smirked.' Sounds like something L would do.' Then she found herself gawking at the man. Was it possible he was so desperate for Light to be Kira that he would show up here of all places, and give away who he was?

It was either a rare coincidence or a ploy to stay safe while around the enemy in public. She was on the second floor and as close to the center row as possible, eyes trained on the contrasting duo. Her back ached just looking at the man who might be L, slouched almost harshly. Didn't that hurt?

His voice, however, was dulcet. She squinted and could have sworn she'd seen his mouth move to call attention to Light. In that moment the eyes of a hawk would have done wonders and blocking out the sounds in the room would do little for her perception. It even looked as though Light had some sort of shadow on him.

'Is my day vision worsening?' She was already red-green colorblind with the addition of hyperopia, but it was hard for her to catch small movements. If someone moved slowly enough, it would be hard for her to notice if they had moved at all. Additionally, her vision was restricted to yellows, blues, and browns.

Chisuzu took her time leaving the second floor of seats but then rushed down the steps and outside. The only thing she had brought with her was a small purse she tugged open to reach for some peppermint candy.

Her hands shook and she kind of wanted to do something that would help to rid her of her excessive glee. If he really was L and told Light, then this guy just took a big hit. It was great in short-term viewing, but now Light had seen L's face.

Speaking of, she heard his voice and shifted slowly to watch him leave in money on wheels after saying a polite farewell to Light. Something was off again and Chisuzu was uncertain if she should be afraid or not. That shadowy figure was still there and it made her uneasy, but she didn't know what it was. Holding back a gasp, her mind reeled at the thought of that shadow being all she could see of the Shinigami Kira had mentioned in his suicide note codes while playing around with some victims.

L would not believe her if she announced this to him but felt almost inclined to make contact with the suspect herself for the chance to see the shock and suspicion spark up on his usually polite and passive face. This Yagami Light was too much the perfect child for her taste. The lack of a nearby vendor with apples made her choice for her and she strolled away before she collected any unwanted attention.

Chisuzu beamed again for another reason: L had been there in person. Pale skin from a lack of sunlight, black spiky and unruly hair, and seemingly ridiculous quirks. It had to be L.

She just couldn't fathom any other possibility.

Once home, she smiled down at her purring housemates, one had even hopped on the back of the couch to touch noses with her. Cats rarely did that since it usually put them at risk, but allowing it regardless was the highest form of feline trust.

Deciding not to change, this time, she just removed her shoes and got comfortable in the living room. Now using two computers. One for gaming and the other for communicating with L.

'The First Strike' had a major strategy element to it, especially if one was in a team. Teams were too risky, unpredictable, and hard to manage when the characters weren't NPC characters and the NPC characters were either harmless town folk or realm mega bosses.

Here she was more morally rigid with herself than she was in real life. Here she could not simply cheat her way through more with her codes and it kept her mind sharp.

Chisuzu Harumi did not require cheating in order to win against many of these other users. As long as she had the preemptive strike and made the first move as the title implied she do, she could usually strategize a win out of anyone up to seven levels above her.

"Bast." It was a soft greeting but it nearly made her character fall out of the tree she was climbing. She sent a look to her other laptop; lips almost imperceptibly pursed and eyes narrowed.

"Was that really a good idea? I know he's probably at home feeling furious and frustrated right now...but to show your face. Even with a false name."

"So you were there." It sounded more like he was confirming a speculation than asking.

"Oh, yes, but I kept to the sidelines." Unlike someone...she kept that part to herself. She knew what he had done.... the same thing her game encouraged.

L had made the first strike.

Thinking back to just a few hours ago, she remembered the shadowy figure hovering around Light.

"I do not think you acted wrongly. I am simply surprised you made such a bold move, in public, no less. This is something that will prove to have possibly stronger pros and cons than if you had simply stayed where you are." Why was she so upset? She hardly ever got like this, let alone over another's actions.

"Would you be opposed to meeting me at the tennis courts in a few days?" Her gaze fell on her character, standing rather precariously on her tree branch only to fall to her plethora of active and napping cats.

Should she tell him what she saw whenever she looked at Light?

"Bast?" Chisuzu snapped her head back to the screen he hid behind and removed her wig, taking comfort in the feeling of her real hair against her face.

"Yes, I will be there. If we happen to lock gazes I will blink and look away."

L disconnected their call and Chisuzu took that as his confirmation to her suggestion.

Now left alone aside from her furry critters, she turned her head to some sitting atop her couch.

"Sounds like I have a date. Whatever will I wear?"


	2. Kitty Hair Clip

Chisuzu's clowder had woken her the morning of her scheduled meet with L, and she chose to wear a black kitty hair clip and a curly brunette wig with her brown contacts. Her attire would have to blend in with the college students around her, so she found something she could wear with thigh high socks and headed out.

When she arrived, a crowd had begun to collect around the tennis court. From the conversations she had picked up on, L had challenged Light to a match with a goal of 6 points. With all the commotion, she preferred not to interfere.

While it could easily be translated as nothing more than a normal match, it felt like it was going to be much more. Her curls swung to the side with her movements as she witnessed L's first serve and couldn't resist a little grin when he used a phrase she herself used often.

"He who strikes first wins."

Chisuzu also didn't make herself known because she wanted L to win this battle against Light and his shadow that moved.

When L was just barely losing at five to four, a little something caught her eye from one side of the court. She recognized the cat, a Turkish Van, as Matlock. He was one of the first to start the clowder of felines she now had and was mutually attached to her.

Unable to do more than watch his antics, she worried for his safety. Chisuzu knew that Matlock was a playful and mischievous little thing and Light appeared to be his target. Light, however, hadn't noticed him and it was soon to not work out in his favor.

Faster than Usain Bolt, Matlock jolted in Light's direction and tripped him, sending the young man into the court's less than humble floor. The girl didn't give a damn about Light and instead sought out the swaggering young tom, sighing with relief when she found him newly seated on the scoreboard.

A buzzing began, louder now after the strange happening. From this distance, she could hear Light hadn't been injured either and was eager to continue the match. Now half paying attention to their game, Chisuzu sent a berrating scowl in Matlock's direction only to be ignored.

'You little brat.'

L had scored, once again tied with Light whose movements hadn't let up any. There was more intense volleying and then, quicker than anticipated, the quiet detective had come out the victor. Seeing this, the girl felt her anger towards Matlock's actions melt away and was left just feeling mollified that he wasn't hurt.

Moving ahead of the two men, she sat on a bench with her laptop and listened in on their conversation as they approached. Aside from getting a general idea of where they were going next and hearing L tell Light he suspected him to be Kira by only one percent, she conceded that she would have to follow them.

They arrived at a coffee shop and Chisuzu went in after them, not worried about them being suspicious. People went to coffee shops all the time and it was local. She couldn't sit where L could see her since people were there, so she seated herself one down from them with her laptop.

While playing 'The First Strike' she heard Light slip up several times, making her suspicion of him increase. Soon all she could hear was Light's voice and it was nearly grating.

Then both of their cell phones rang in near unison and she learned that Light's father had a heart attack. This time, it would be easier to follow after them at a slower pace after L stated where his father was being treated.

Not feeling interested in more walking, she hailed a cab and ate a few mints. Once there, she tracked them by ear once more, just barely able to pick up on their voices in all the other commotion. She pulled out her laptop again and waited for them to leave the hospital room, cringing at the strong scent of disease, death, and disinfectant. Staying as close to the door as possible she continued her exploration, her character, Bastet, was working her way up a mountain. She had ram horns and short white hair. Her ears were elf-like in nature and short but thin until they ended in a point. Bastet was small but quick and well-armed for the sort of combat Chisuzu put her through.

Not wanting to be caught in the middle of a battle like many other times L had contacted her, she stuck to basic travel and exploration in a forest, spotting a nurse go in to tell them visiting hours were over. Her head lifted to peer at L and he appeared to sense her gaze, locking eyes with her.

She blinked and looked back to her game in time to see Bastet had fallen off a cliff.

...L...

I had first taken notice of her when a cat had randomly interrupted my tennis match with Light. This girl, Bast, was consistently giving me unnecessary feline clues like her little calling card in the shape of a small black cat figurine sitting down and now it was her hair clip.

I assumed she was younger than me and wearing a disguise as her hair appeared to hold its curls too well. Her eyes and general face, however, added sense to her chosen alias as she shared quite a likeness to a cat.

I had caught the split second interaction between her and the creature that had tripped Light. Overall, she had done well following us without Light taking notice, knowing he would be too focused on me to realize what was going on.

It had still been a mild shock to see her confirm it with a blink before returning to her laptop. The sounds coming from it were also familiar and reminded me of the times I had contacted Bast while she was busy. It was palpable in her voice that she was only half paying attention to what I said yet seeming to retain all of it whenever questioned.

I had Watari double back and pick her up. As luck would have it, she stepped out of the hospital ten minutes after we had left, Light now long gone from the area. Bast approached the vehicle and stopped beside the back passenger door before she turned and lifted something from the ground.

The cat from the tennis match.

Watari got the door for her and she stared at him, her legs preparing her to bolt until she saw me. We locked gazes again and she relented, carefully getting into the vehicle next to me.

"Maybe this sequence of events is better," She mumbled, looking down at her purring cat.

"I hope you aren't expecting an apology. Domestic cats are especially unapologetic creatures." She plucked her wig from her head and neatly placed it on the seat in front of us before she removed her contacts and encased them in their respective containers.

All I saw next was white as she lightly combed her fingers through the mass with a contented look upon her face.

"He did that on purpose?" She nodded, scratching him behind the ear.

"Matlock was always particularly tricky," she paused and thought," or a jerk. Take your pick." She had heterochromia; one eye blue and the other yellow. She opened her mouth to say something but I beat her to it.

"Although you have the skills to be Kira, I do not suspect you. I also already know solving cases through hacking isn't all you do with that skill. As for this ride, we are going to your residence so you can pack anything you may need to take with you as you assist us with this case." She smirked at the end as she glanced around.

"If that is so then we are heading in the wrong direction." Bast grinned and wrote her real address out for Watari.

Catching my pointed stare, she smiled outright, her canines sticking out.

"You shouldn't pretend to know these things, Ryuga. I went out of my way, far from home, to meet you and watch your interactions with Light Yagami. It was all very exhausting." Her voice almost had a purr to it in addition to its already soft nature and a few seconds later she joined her cat in slumber. Observing her, she seemed to have worn her clothing purely for the purpose of fitting in, and she had exhibited many signs of discomfort such as tugging down the hem of her skirt repeatedly.

When I moved to wake her I saw Matlock open his eyes and look out the window. Then I witnessed him eye Bast's sleeping face before rubbing against her breast to get her attention, but when that didn't work he seemed to tsk and bop her on the nose with his paw. She awoke with a start at the same moment Watari was opening her car door for her. Even half awake, she daintily grasped her wig.

"Matlock, did you really have to hit my nose?" The fatigue in her that clung resiliently lined her words before she paused and smiled at Watari.

"Thank you, um..." She blushed when she found she didn't know his name.

"It's quite alright. You may call me Watari. We will wait for you to return." It was safe as she lived rurally. Peeking out the window of her now closed door, I saw Matlock wasn't the only one residing with her; not by a long shot.

Catching a whiff of the air, I caught the scent of mint that had traveled with her. She likely had the candies on her at all times and I'm sure I caught her popping one or two of them while she was tailing us.

She returned approximately fifteen minutes later with an assortment of bags and cases either hanging from her person or rolling after her. Matlock sat on her front porch and watched her with the eyes of a guardian as she packed them into the trunk of the vehicle. When he saw me, he blinked and instantly went back to watching her.

She had changed clothes, opting to keep her long socks on and donned a mocha colored yukata and traditional sandals. I had noticed Matlock didn't move as she spoke to him, but seemed to understand her. Bast had left the house in his care, saying that he owed her for the stunt he had pulled earlier today as well as waking her the way he had.

"All set, Miss?" Watari inquired and she smiled.

"Yes, I believe I am."

Back in the car again, I noticed her posture eased in its severity as she removed a brush from a pack she had kept with her and began to brush her hair, a sigh of pleasure escaping her mouth.

"You require all of that to assist in the Kira case?" I questioned, unable to resist my curiosity.

"One part clothes, one part wigs, two pairs of shoes aside from the ones I have on my feet, three parts computer parts and cables. When we arrive just show me where I can set up and I will start building."

"Why not simply take the one in your home with you?"

"Too tedious and inconvenient. The parts I need will be anonymously sent to the building. Don't worry, my contact can be trusted."

"I suppose you're right. Do you always assign Matlock as house watch?" I half hoped this contact of hers arrived and left before we did. The other half was curious as to how she knew our destination.

"No, there is a small group of about half a dozen that I cycle the responsibility through. You'd be surprised to see how capable they all are." Bast had a knowing and even proud gleam in her eye when she referred to them.

"You fell asleep before I could ask you your thoughts after today." I began after nodding.

"I did." She acknowledged flatly.

"From what I have witnessed before and after today, my conclusion is Light Yagami is Kira."

"What is you reasoning for this result?"

"He hates to lose so badly and he bottles up his rage. You can see it in his eyes and feel it in his actions after something doesn't work to his benefit. Light also failed miserably at the test you gave him. He should have asked if you were keeping any additional notes with you, even as a precaution. If he had, I might have doubted my accusation of him. The excuses he pulled up only worked against him. Did you tell him Raye Penber was investigating him or did he make that assumption himself? I did some investigating of my own when I found out that Naomi Misora went missing and told you of those finds. I believe they are the loose strings that haunt him and will be his eventual undoing." There was more she wanted to say but her body language quickly shifted moods, and she was once again disquieted by something.

Bast once again reached into her pack and pulled out a bag of peppermint treats, eating several at once before slowly, almost robotically meeting my stare.

"Want some?" She offered, one hand offered the open side of the bag and the other covering her mouth as she spoke with her mouth full.

"Thank you." I came out with a handful after picking them out one by one as she continued with something else; her eyes nearly accusing.

"Even if you believe me, you're going to play with him, aren't you? You want him to slip up."

"It shouldn't be too hard. Matlock did it." Bast suddenly began to cough and I worried she may have choked on one of her candies, but once she had stopped, the giggles replaced them.

"So what are they calling you at this Task Force you've collected?" She inquired after she had regulated her breathing.

"Ryuzaki."

Bast nodded and thought for a moment before her eyes started to shut.

"Are the others there? I would rather not meet them just yet if you don't mind." I understood her reluctance to meet the Kira Task Force.

"No, I let sent them all home for the night. You will meet them tomorrow."

"Could we just omit my being a hacker and just say I'm a fellow detective?"

"I have a feeling they would find out sooner or later." Surely, she knew this.

"You can't just keep me a secret on an unused floor?" The sudden childlike quality of her voice bothered me and I glanced over at her to see her more awake than before, fear tangible in her multicolored eyes as she visibly shrank away from me. Why was she so afraid? I had no grounds to request any more trust from her than she currently had, so I tried something else.

"I trust these people to show my face to them and introduce myself as L, Bast, and I would not have done so if I felt they weren't trustworthy people. I know you have never made a public appearance as Bast and I will not ask you to do so unless I believe it is absolutely necessary. Is there another alias you would prefer to go by?"

'I wouldn't ask to meet you if I didn't trust you.' I almost added, but stopped myself.

"Suzu." She hopped up, correcting the slouch her weariness had lulled her into and beamed at me.

"I may have an idea." Her eyes now twinkled with mischief.

"What if we said there were two Ls but didn't make it public like you did when you tried to wrench a reaction out of Light with all those 'agents'?" I stared at her, surmising she had more to say.

"I know you plan to invite him to join the Task Force and learning this untold information may make him uneasy."

It was strange to watch and listen to her now after the montage of moods she had expressed in such a short span of time, her body was eerily still with her hands relaxed over one another in her lap while she focused her eyes forward, but her face gave her thoughts away. I could just make out the secret smirk hiding in the corner of her mouth in the darkness of the car, unsheathing one of her sharp canines and adding an animalistic air to her person.

In that moment, I knew what a hungry cat looked like the moment before they pounced.


	3. They Will Find a Way in

\---Chisuzu---

I had planned everything ahead of time aside from how long the ride from my place to L's building would be; a mistake on my part.

Thankfully, the car stopped around the same time I was beginning to feel claustrophobic. All the same, I paused nearby to take in all the fresh air I could when I exited the vehicle.

"You get carsick?" I could feel his wide sleepless eyes on me, and imagined his thumb being at his lip, a habit he seemed to have while pondering something.

"Only after long rides if I don't fall asleep first, but we needed the talk we had. Go on ahead, I will wait for you inside." It was only natural they go through a different entryway for L's protection.

"Are you sure?" He was indicating that I wasn't in disguise.

"There will be a convention two days from now and it is nearby, so people here will assume I am here for it. I assure you, I will be fine." I flashed him a gentle smile and shut the door.

Once they disappeared, I regretted my decision with every step I took, but there was no way I could get back in that car until I recovered from this nausea completely. Despite the care and pride I had for my natural white locks, I was still prone to feeling self-conscious of them in public.

I knew I stuck out and I pretended to ignore the stares as I approached the doors at a pace that was natural but felt too slow.

'I just need to make it to the elevator. I just need to make it to the elevator.' This became my mantra until the metal doors closed and I turned to view the disappearing ground, becoming calmer as people morphed to dots.

Tea. I required my peppermint tea with a hint of honey. My stomach gurgled at that precise moment and I recalled I hadn't eaten anything solid in a while.

'Make that honeyed peppermint tea and something meaty, like a nice juicy hamburger. Oh boy, do I need room service.' I thought as I wiped away some drool with my sleeve. L's main floor was cozy and had more furniture in it than I had expected, yet I found it oddly consolatory.

His laptop was of average size, left to sit on the coffee table rather harmlessly. Just about all technology was harmless until you put it in someone's hands.

I had been so enamored with the room and its minimalist design that I almost didn't hear the door open behind me.

Almost. There had been a subtle shift in the air paired with the harsh creaking of hinges. Things that squeaked like that bothered me, so I always had made sure nothing in my living space made such repulsive noises.

"Suzu, how is it that you knew which floor to go to? More so than that, how did you bypass the door's keycard and passcode system?" Pivoting on my socked heels, I tossed him a blank look.

"You're a genius, Ryuzaki, I'm sure the answer will not evade you for long. Where will I be staying?"

"Three floors up. Your luggage including your package from your trusted contact is all there." It was Watari who answered and he was obviously amused while L just stared at me.

"Thank you, Watari. I will unpack and set everything up immediately."

"Will you be needing any assistance?" Watari asked and I shook my head, still unable to hide my own amusement, barely able to withhold more giggling. L was acting so childish it made me want to laugh outright.

"I appreciate the offer, but I have learned it is easier to do this part alone." I had not meant to bow, but it was a reflex I still had a hard time ignoring. Unpacking and building a computer would take time as well as the rest of the energy I had in me for the day, so I halted before the door.

"I will see both of you tomorrow. Good night." Then I left, not having time to stick around.

Sure enough, when I exited three floors higher, my things were all by the first door.

'But I have a choice, right?' I wondered to myself as I checked the fourth door on the right. With a little rearranging, it would be perfect, so I dragged my boxes in and unpacked my clothes and wigs, setting them up on plastic display heads I had brought along.

Now to move the furniture and order my hamburger, peppermint tea, and honey.

The couch and television would need to go up against the wall for now, so I wouldn't have to worry about anything getting in the way when I was putting my new computer together. I slid my socks off to give myself more traction, braided my hair to keep it out of my way, and got started.

It didn't take long and while moving things, I noticed a large outlet on both the floor and wall, making my plan all the better.

Building my computers (yes, I had enough parts for two) would take the longest and I took a small food break.

I played a CD for ten hours of rain and other nature sounds prior to disrobing. It was to prevent static discharge which would screw everything up.

Then I got to building.

 

...Meanwhile...

It wasn't hard to find her as it was a sense beyond smell or hearing for them. They did not travel in obvious groups but singularly and at random times.

Some used the streets as they were almost completely barren while other used less traditional routes and followed along fire escapes and rooftops. No matter the method, their destination was the same as they soon entered through conveniently opened windows and doors to rarely used balconies.

Somehow, they all managed to find the stairwell, now a sizeable clowder as they went up until they reached her floor. Now it was all through skill they found her, as a select few were long enough and clever enough to paw open first the door exiting the stairway and then the door to her room.

The woman they were searching for had finished everything she had set out to do that night and was now slumbering peacefully on the couch, clothed only in her simple yukata.

L had been keeping a periodic watch on Bast/Suzu since she entered her room but had refrained from doing so when he noticed her building her computers without a shred of fabric covering her person. It wasn't until motion sensors in the stairwell went off, that he had switched screens to see what had triggered them.

It was cats. A considerable number of them at that. L had witnessed their entry to the hotel building and observed in awe as they accumulated at the stairs, finding her room as if they had some kind of built-in GPS for the young female hacker.

His thumb pressed his lip sideways as he saw them close the used doors behind them after they were all inside her room. They gathered around her but made no move to disturb her, instead getting comfortable in various locations and nodding off.

How had they found her and where had they all come from? Were they cats from her residence? It was likely from the number he had seen there while she packed.

He would have to ask her about this later on when she awoke. He had seen enough strange things since the Kira case started and it was about time he got answers for some of it.

\---Chisuzu---

Sunlight trickled in through the cracks between the blinds and my face retreated into the back of the couch, where no light threatened my eyes. Then I heard purring, continuous, loud, and definitely belonging to more than one feline.

I forced my eyes to open and my body to a sitting position as I scanned my surroundings, spotting many of them lounging around. Half expecting them to have arrived overnight, I had no food for them.

"You're all going to have to wait. I'm going to have to go shopping for it...unless." I trailed with my thoughts, eyeing the phone. Ordering plates of fish and plain burgers with my breakfast would be spoiling them, but that's okay sometimes. Besides, they had traveled so far to be here. They didn't even know why they sought me out, I was sure of that. So, I ordered enough for them all and promised to tip them if they minced it up.

L must have seen them or would soon and when he did, he was going to have questions. I wouldn't put it past him to have cameras set up all over this floor and although that thought made me uneasy, I knew he had done so out of habit, rather than to spy on me. Perhaps allowing him to keep them up for another week would allow for him to trust me more.

Normally, I would have an issue with something like this, but I knew it was one of the only ways to gain his trust.

'I hope you like cats, L.' I considered as I got ready and the room service arrived. The last step was to leave the faucets running so they all had a water source.

'Would he believe me if I told him the truth? What was I supposed to say? Sorry about weirding you out with my cats last night, but being the incarnation of an Egyptian goddess comes with a territory. Oh, and not only that but I can possess them for a time and communicate with them?'

Feeling dubious of the conversation ending well, I continued down to his floor and cautiously entered his room. There was no sign of the Task Force yet and L was in his usual spot, a pile of empty creamers were stacked haphazardly next to a half-eaten slice of cake.

"Good afternoon, Suzu." His voice was calm and polite. It was impossible to detect any emotion in it and I grew anxious.

"Good afternoon, Ryuzaki."I had no idea how to continue from this point.

"Want some cake? The Task Force members won't be coming for another hour or two."

"No, thank you, cake has little to no flavor to me." I admitted before sitting down in a chair a respectable distance from him, dredging up as much confidence as I could in such an instance.

"I assume you saw the cats."

"I may have."

This man.

"Want to know how they found me?" Only then did he shift his eyes from his monitor to my person and I took that move as my cue to start talking.

"I don't expect you to believe me as I know how insane it sounds, but it's the truth." I concluded and searching his face as he stared wordlessly at me, thumb on his lip again.

"What about the reason you can't taste cake?" He finally asked and I assumed he had tucked all that information at the back of his mind for later.

"I have no taste receptors on my tongue for sweetness. Since we are on the topic of foods, I might as well inform you that I am also lactose intolerant as well as allergic to chocolate."

"That sounds horrible." L muttered to himself, taking another bite of his cake.

"But if what you said is true, then it would make sense of everything I have witnessed since I met you."

Chills ran down my spine reflexively as I heard the elevator ding to signal the Kira Task Force was here. My head went a little blank and I even began to feel lightheaded, but I stood up anyway, my eyes burning into the door.

Despite my nerves and fear, I had been raised to be a certain way and follow a certain set of conditioned habits. L had said they could be trusted, but he had never broken the law.

At least, not that I knew of. At times his methods were unorthodox, at best...even if they got the job done.

My brain was foggy as I felt myself go into autopilot while they filed in. Before I knew it I had three pairs of new eyes on me.

L introduced us, using my new alias so I wouldn't be put under automatic suspicion. They were all rather kind, not seeming nearly as shocked as I thought they would to see someone my age here in a yukata.

I bowed deeply again, despite not wanting to.

"You may not see much of me considering I am most useful behind a computer, but it is a pleasure to work with you all."

We conversed about the case and it was easy enough to slide into conversation when I knew details. It rounded to Misora's missing person's case, still unsolved four months later. At one point, I turned to the door, catching ear of footsteps, slow and steady, purposeful. The owner was Watari, surprisingly the hardest to read of all the KTF members.

"Ryuzaki, something seems to be happening on Sakura TV." Catching L's attention, he immediately clicked the television on to a reporter mentioning something about tapes and them all being hostages of Kira's, saying they were instructed to play the tape.

Changing back and forth from one channel to the next L ordered in two more TVs and then announced we needed to stop the broadcast somehow. The next thing I knew, everyone was freaking out about not being able to reach their desired contacts, and I reached out my hand and caught the back of Ukita's shirt.

"Hey!" I snapped, loudly, cringing at the sound of my own voice. Everyone stopped and I was once again the center of attention.

"All of you should sit down and let me deal with this. You go down there without a plan, you will senselessly get yourself killed. What part of 'value your lives' do you not understand?" An uncharacteristic lecture on my part, but I had to say something.

Then I hurried out of the room and up the stairs as fast as my yukata and shoes would allow. Throwing open my door, I rushed my newly built computer and brought her to life.

A grin spread across my face as I cut through the new station's 'network security' like butter and went straight for what was currently being aired; ending it. Overjoyed with no reason to hurry now, I went back using the elevator and busted into the room.

"Guys, I-" Something was wrong as I did a head count.

"Where's Ukita?" My eyes fell onto the screen, where a body lay motionless next to a hole in the building, glass strewn everywhere.

"He left anyway, not thinking you would get there in time. We tried to convince him but he had his mind set on it. Then a van broke in..."Matsuda murmured in response and I noticed L on two different phones as two more officers fell dead.

'Yagami was the one behind the police van?! Wasn't he recovering from a heart attack?' I drew closer to them and focused my hearing, feeling more and more respect for the man as I listened on. He had gone in and confiscated the tapes!

My eyes found their way back to the television and I felt goose bumps prickle up my arms at the sight of SWAT members and others police forces shielding the front entrance to the news station. The high from succeeding in shutting the broadcast down had been cut short the moment I saw Ukita's body, but I now felt hope and renewed pride for what we were working for.

'Why did it have to take Ukita's death for them to realize we could fight back?' I had taken up a spot on the couch, silent as I mourned for a man that I had met no more than a couple of hours ago. Had I not been fast enough or not convincing enough? Would he have thrown himself out there regardless of what I said?

When Chief Yagami stepped foot into the room with an arm over Watari, I saw the bag and nodded to him when he sat down.

"Are you the one that stopped the broadcast while I was in the building?" I nodded, not feeling like my effort had really amounted to anything since it still resulted in both a death and me finding that not only had the Chief gone into the station's building, but would have also been able to shut the broadcast down himself.

If Mr. Yagami hadn't seen the broadcast from his hospital bed and watched Ukita die on Live TV, then we may not have gotten our hands on these tapes...perhaps things were meant to be this way?

I searched L out and found him where he had greeted Chief Yagami, still hunched there, and I could hear the gears working once I saw the postmark that read Osaka, then he had Aizawa take them to the crime lab.

"While you're doing that Suzu and I are going to watch these tapes and see if they can tell us anything." My head snapped up at the use of my other alias, so close to my real name, narrowing my eyes at him in silent question.

"Your ears are better than most and may pick up on anything I miss." He explained and I just nodded dumbly, following after him. Did he know I was feeling depressed and useless?

Neither of us spoke as the tapes played. Right before he called the others in, he turned to me.

"Suzu, how are you feeling?" He was referring to Ukita, but I had pushed him away for now.

"Focused. The one that sent these tapes isn't the Kira we've been searching for, Kira never would have killed innocent news people to prove himself. There is a second and he or she is a fan with similar powers." His eyes were on me and I glanced up at him.

"What? Did you not come to the same conclusion?" I inquired, listening intently.

"Not at all, I was just thinking the same thing. I will tell the others, and you should get something to eat."

"You aren't going on live TV, you know. I won't let you do anything so reckless before this case is solved. Not that I need to say anything. You aren't one to do reckless things and I like that." Then I stood and started to leave the room.

"Oh, and the next time you go out to see Light, I am going with you."

"That won't be necessary, I plan to have Chief Yagami invite his son to the join the Task Force." I paused, watching his hands, something I did often.

"Very well. I am going to my room to spend some time with my cats. Call me down when he gets here."

"Alright. See you later, Suzu."

"Ryuzaki." I murmured, politely.

They were all happy to see me when I opened the door. Meowing and purring, rubbing against me territorially. I just stayed in my room and splayed out on my bed, petting one while I told them all what had happened. It was late and the sun would be coming up soon.

Then my laptop signaled it was time to go back. So, out of convenience, I ordered more food for them and took the elevator down.

Stepping off the elevator and not sensing him being there yet, I took my time walking to L's room. There was another elevator dinging behind me and I paused and felt my pulse increase.

He was here.


	4. What if?

I padded into the room, where the others were waiting, and locked eyes with L. Getting my message, he nodded.

L got Light mostly up to date aside from suspecting a second Kira and introduced him to everyone he didn't already know. When he got to me, Light paused, and glanced almost imperceptibly in the direction of his hovering shadow, before smiling to me. I hated that smile, it didn't reach his eyes.

What kind of idiots did he take us for?

"Is something wrong, Asahi?" He shook his head, already used to his false surname.

"No, I just didn't think there were people my age still wearing yukata casually around this part of Japan." Light laughed awkwardly, scratching his head the way I had seen Matsuda do a few times.

"I also wasn't expecting there to be two Ls. You're very different from one another." He pretended his lie was an admittance he was almost embarrassed about.

"Do call me Suzu. Makes it easier to differentiate." I smiled, staring pointedly at the dark hovering mass behind him before glancing at him and smirking at his glare.

It would have scared me if it wasn't so amusing. Having the upper hand in a fight was great. I wasn't the only one giving Light crap either as L requested he listened to the tapes and asked him to 'Play Kira'.

Not having anything else to do, I curled up to nap on the sofa as Light wrote things out and L snacked. From my spot, I found myself watching them again, seeing them tiptoe along the friend border with one another. L may not have much on the lines of a social life but that didn't mean he didn't know how to act around people. When he wanted to, his social IQ was actually quite high.

"Suzu, if you are tired, feel free to go to your floor. I will contact you if and when we get a response from the second Kira."

___Light at 3rd person___

There are two Ls? Since when? Has it been like this the entire time? He snuck a peek at the napping girl, who L had allowed to return to her room.

She was completely different alright. He could have sworn she had smiled right at Ryuk earlier but that wasn't possible, right? Unless she was the second Kira.

No, the second Kira was an idiot and a fan, this woman knew more than she would ever admit and he was sure she hated his guts and suspected him more obviously than L. Besides, she hadn't touched his death note.

There was something else about her and it didn't sit right with him. Where had he seen her before? Why did she look so familiar? He was sure he would remember her if she had attended his school, but nothing was popping up when he happened to look over at her.

Ryuk had said something about her that disturbed him.

"You're in trouble, Light. There is no beating this one if she finds proof you're Kira." What had that even meant? Maybe he could get more out of him later.

He hadn't been expecting her at all. Apparently her technological capabilities rivaled L's.

"She can't see me but there are some humans that see Shinigami as an apparition or shadow."

Seriously?

Ignoring Ryuk for now, he finished up the script, silently fuming at L for tricking him into 'Playing the role of Kira'.

"Ryuzaki, I hope you don't mind me asking, but when did Suzu join the Task Force?" He stood there, thumb on his lip for only a few seconds before responding.

"Well, she was always a part of it, technically speaking, but she only physically arrived here the day Ukita died." His eyes fell on Light as it dawned on him. He should never have asked the question.

"Why? Do you have an interest in her, Light?" It would appear that he would have to play it off as a crush. L was honestly curious about Light's answer as he recalled Bast's face that night in the car as she zoned out.

"Am I that obvious? I like women that are both beautiful and smart, and from what you've told me about her, she is both. Is she related to you in some way?"

"No, this was my first time meeting her in person." Light was asking a lot of possibly risky questions. Usually, he just talked in excess.

"Well, that makes sense. After all, this is your first time making a public appearance as L."

"Indeed." L trailed before sauntering off, effectively ending the conversation. He took a glance at a camera screen on his laptop, seeing Bast enter her room and head for the closet, lackadaisically shoving the door to the side in her drowsy state. During their long distance discussions, he had frequently found her just getting up and she had no time preference for her 'naps'.

'What is she doing?' He caught her pulling herself up onto the top shelf of her closet and rolling over, but what bugged him was her cats. Once again, they appeared to act on her behalf as one painstakingly pushed her closet door closed behind her.

His eyes drifted to Light, who seemed to be at war with himself.

'If they were both L, then she would likely be the second L. She took no direct control over the Task Force. Unless it was supposed to look that way and she was secretly the brain of the operation as Ryuzaki shielded her, but somehow it didn't seem to fit.'

\---Chisuzu---

A few days later, we were all standing in front of the TV as the 'second Kira' responded.

It worked? Was this guy seriously stupid?

I heard Light's gasp at the phrase 'the eyes' and his expression as the tape played on. When the person said 'Shinigami' Light froze and L cried out overdramatically and fell out of his chair. Seeing he was fine, I noticed that Light had made no move to assist. There was already a crowd of them there that made me stay out of the way, but I caught most reactions from our suspect.

Debate ensued and L massaged the bridge of his nose.

Light pulled some bullshit out of his ass and I smirked to hide my snort.

What about 'the eyes' though? Was that how the second Kira held power over Light?

When they were all dismissed, I stayed behind.

"Suzu, what's up?" He asked, licking the frosting off a donut like he hadn't just freaked out half an hour ago.

"I wanted to talk to you about the Kira case in private if you don't mind."

"Of course, but you haven't eaten all day. How about you order something, first?" After my stomach growled, I blushed and nodded without a way to deny my need for a meal.

"Now what is it you wanted to talk about?"

"Have you calmed from the second Kira's message involving eyes and a Shinigami?" My question was tentative and I watched him carefully.

"They do not exist," He stated flatly, slurping more coffee.

"Neither do I." I retorted and I know he was thinking back to that night.

"You can check them all for trackers or cameras, whatever, if you want."

"That won't be necessary, it appears to be the only answer for their presence and we didn't intercept a signal of any kind from that night. So far, you could even say I believe you." I couldn't resist giving him a little half smile.

"Thank you, Ryuzaki."

"So far, now please, continue."

"Right. I have a far more outlandish thought about the message we received. I haven't told you this, but I'll say it now. I have seen a shadow hovering after Light. When he was here, so was it. I trust my eyes far more in the dark but day or night I can see it, and I have a feeling it may be a Shinigami. As for 'the eyes', think about it. The original Kira needs a name and a face, but it would appear the second does not. I kept asking myself, even today, how would that be the case? With this message, perhaps it has something to do with this Shinigami. If they do exist, we know nothing of their power. We hardly believe in them to start.

All I can imagine is that both Kiras possess a power that ignores human capabilities. No one can kill without being there and need only a name and a face. No one can control the actions of another before deciding how they die; except perhaps Shinigami.

Light reacted to the phrase 'the eyes' and then Shinigami. You did too but he was outraged. What if 'the eyes' were an additional power given to Kira from whatever dealings they have with these Shinigami? What if the message was giving away all the details on purpose because people who haven't seen and experienced these things have a natural desire to not believe in them?"

"There are quite a few 'What ifs' in your explanation, Suzu."

"Would it not make sense that the second Kira only wanted you to show up on live TV and not give your name because they could already see it?"

"Why would the second Kira have the eyes and not the first?" I shrugged at the question.

"Maybe it's an additional deal the original hasn't made. There is a cost to everything, is there not? I wouldn't rule out the possibility these 'eyes that can see a person's real name' cost quite a lot."

"For what reason would Shinigami make deals with humans and interfere in their lives?" This was not asked to me but to himself and I smiled to prod him on. He glanced up at me and frowned.

"I can only assume it's because they're bored." L muttered and I nodded.

"'How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?' Authur Conan Doyle, The Sign of Four."

L didn't want to believe me but I had a point and my explanation made more sense than any other; even Light's.

My eyes snapped to his hands as he drank more from his cup, unable to tear them away from his thin, spider-like fingers. They were so lovely, but I cursed my fixation when he caught me. It had to be the third or fifth time I had let my eyes linger on his hands since I saw him.

"Did you want to try some coffee? I know you can't taste sugar, but there are other flavors you can add to coffee, like mint." Was he playing dumb to make me less troubled? I was overtly staring at his fingers and didn't care for what he had in them.

Rather than getting flustered and running away, I held my ground and blinked, reaching my hand out and grasping the handle of the ceramic mug he had set down. Lifting it to my lips, I took a small sip, the taste was bitter and strong, much cruder than the softness of my tea.

I found it to be better than I had been expecting; I even liked it.

"Perhaps you're right. I might try it with mint and honey. Honey would make the liquid a tad thicker while softening the smell." I took another sip to confirm my thoughts.

"Hmm, yes. Oh, there was one more thing I wanted to speak with you about. Not related to the case." I said, carefully placing the mug down the exact way he had it.

Instead of replying, he was silent as he stared at his coffee mug with his thumb on his lip.

"Prior to coming to Tokyo, I delved into your history." L's eyes slowly lifted to my face.

"You have quite the number of aliases, L. How come the one you are most famous for is your real one?" His gaze hardened and I pursed my lips at him.

"Let me finish. Originally, I hadn't been looking for you, just playing around England when I came across the orphanage. Not me, personally, but one of my cats. They have an easier time getting around, as you know. Then I got curious and did some extensive research; I got lucky, L. Not long after I got the information, it was eaten up by a virus." I glanced away from his face now.

"I remember Watari mentioning something like that. Was that your doing?" L's voice was quiet and nearly inaudible, yet my ears took in the words and transformed them into what could only be pride.

"The part of me with common sense figured it to be safer for the future generations residing there. The ones at risk, anyways. Of course, I had to leave enough for it to keep the appearance of an average orphanage." I stood, smiling at him.

"So, Erald Coil, Deneuve, Hideki Ryuga, L Lawliet, Rue Ryuzaki; I know them all. This is my reassurance to you in case you get suspicious of me, Chisuzu Harumi." Taking advantage of the odd mood had proven fruitful.

"Good night, Ryuzaki." I bowed before taking my leave.

We were too close to the end now and for him to suspect me after I admitted knowing all of that since before I met him, should knock it all out of the park; I needed him to trust me.

...L...

Bast's admittance had been more than I was expecting. I had already assumed the virus in my personal files had her name on it and didn't suspect her as either Kira. She despised him too much to work with him, especially with how enthusiastic and determined the second seems to be.

Chisuzu Harumi. I had originally followed her alias Loralie Paoletti and used the information she had given her. I should have known better.

The way she left had been uncharacteristic of her or perhaps she had just shown a different side of herself because she had been embarrassed. While it's true I knew she had been staring at my hands, I had simply assumed her to be dazing off and figured coffee would wake her up.

I had not factored in her possibly liking my hands as it was less likely than her being tired, but it would explain why she had seemed so rattled. She had also blushed for a split second, but it had happened so fast I had nearly missed it.

Finding the exchange irrelevant to the case I chose to ignore it had happened at all.


	5. Shocking Discoveries

Since I was the only other Task Force member living in the same building as L, I was the second to see the journal the fan of Kira sent.

What was I supposed to think about this person? They seemed stupid, but if I followed my idea of them taking advantage of everyone else's disbelief, then perhaps they were clever and opportunistic? Showing one another their Shinigami on the thirtieth would be what distracted them from something bigger and more important.

'But what?' There was so much here to work with, I decided I'd need to play sleuth.

"Good morning, Suzu. Are you alright? You look like you want to say something."

"Just thinking. You know, if Light is Kira, tactically, he's not very bright..."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, Kira has the ability to control a person's actions before they die, right? Light knows the names of nearly all the Task Force members yet I wonder if he realizes he could use them to kill you, L, before they die. Personally, I am very glad he's hasn't if he's already come to this conclusion as I prefer us all to be alive. Perhaps, he knows he would be suspected?"

"You'd have won if you were Kira. You could easily use a disguise after infiltrating our ranks and have the perfect escape." L mused, a finger to his lips and eyes on the ceiling. It had taken some time to notice, but L's tone changed often seeming to independently rise and fall almost contingently but never going above a certain height unless absolutely necessary.

"It's a good thing my morals find this power wrong. I wouldn't have killed those chasing after me unless they'd tried to kill me; never would've even shown my face." I saw him shift his eyes to me for a moment before he checked the time.

"The Task Force will be here soon so I think we should change topics unless you don't mind them suspecting you."

"Oh? If they all heard and Light used this method, then he would obviously be suspected as Kira."

"I would die." He reminded flatly and I smiled. Somehow, I felt he had enjoyed the banter as much as I had. It didn't seem to matter if it had involved his death; it was even fun.

"Which is why I want to ask you if you mind me prowling around solo tomorrow? You could say I got sick. I will start researching this," I waved the journal entry back and forth. "Tomorrow."

"You plan to stay and observe Light's reactions to the journal?"

"Of course. It's too amusing to watch him squirm under scrutiny and freeze when he's found something we missed. You're right, Ryuzaki. This game is fun."

I claimed a spot on a couch and yawned as everyone filed into the room. Switching to a polite smile, I watched Light came in half an hour later, after everyone else had already discussed their points. This was likely done so we could easily watch Light.

His eyes widened. It was only for a split second, but I caught it, watching as it ended with a flash of his eyes. Throughout the entire meeting, he seemed to naturally glare at L. The expression hardened as L went on to explain the possibility of the second Kira showing up at the Tokyo Dome.

As he was going over the list, he said to keep an eye out for 'women with notebooks' in Aoyama and Shibuya's clothing stores.

'That's right. The people that had been killed by the second had shown up in Women's magazines...' My thoughts trailed as he said something about cameras and Matsuda piped in, saying he should go since he would blend in with the crowd. My attention was grabbed when Light stated he would go too.

"How about you, Suzu? We could make up a last name for you and you could add to the ranks." His words were polite, matching his smile. Light wanted me to say no, but I was just as childish as him.

"I usually use the alias Kobayashi, Suzume. I don't mind and I do have normal clothes." I pondered for effect. While it was true I wasn't going to be there tomorrow, I didn't miss a chance to make him squirm; couldn't.

After they left, L and I exchanged a look.

"You changed your mind?"

"No, but when I agreed to go with them, his face lost some of its color." I giggled.

"This reminds me of when I agreed to stalk your day with Light."

"How so?"

"Nothing really. Just wondering what I'm going to wear. Give me a minute." I went silent as I picked up my laptop and began my research of all the dates and areas in case there was a secret message.

"Well, that's disappointing." My laptop sat on my knees and I saw L move to peer over my shoulder.

"Find something?" In all his nonchalance, his tone gave away some curiosity.

"Just where I'm going to sit." Something was strange.

"Ryuzaki, have you figured out if this second Kira is stupid or not yet?" His face fell a bit.

"It goes up and down. She's capable enough to use a code and think ahead a ways, but if your theory holds..."

"If my theory holds then she's smarter than we gave her credit. Tomorrow I'll sit in here." I finished for him and proceeded to point at a café across from Note Blue.

"Can't you send your cats?"

"They won't know what to look for and it's harder for them to retain their focus."

"Are you sure you're alright with going?"

"Perhaps, I am overanalyzing this, but are you worried about me Ryuzaki?"

"You're a valued member of my team. Of course I am."

I smiled and bid him good night, enjoying the silence of the hallway on my way to the elevator.

A lot had gone on lately, so I felt a bath would do some good. To keep from rushing out naked, I brought my portable laptop along with me and set it on a dry surface nearby.

Showers reminded me too much of rain, so I always took baths; bubble baths on special occasions. For my own comfort, I kept the bathroom light off and lit a few scentless candles. The cats followed me in, the brave ones climbing up to peer in, and a few even tried to get in only to be shooed away.

"I know you're all so very watchful, but I want you to pay particular attention to this Light Yagami. Just for a few weeks or so." My reply was a chorus of sneezes.

"Does he smell funny? I had no idea."

A gray Ocicat sat straight up on the toilet and stared at me, his tail whipping around slowly.

"Please don't rush me, Feluda." I got meowed at. Feluda was one of the more impatient of the clowder, nagging me about her needs.

"Look, I've been busy and I feel gross. I can't lick myself clean wherever I please, you know." I made a face at the thought.

"Has anyone gone back and checked on the house to see how Matlock is doing?" I got a small chorus of annoyed meows; like a 'yes, Mooooom.'

"I'll assume things are fine then." I sighed and sunk a little further under the warm water. Having learned about the history behind Bast, I had once thought being her reincarnation with such a strong connection to cats would be incredible, even romantic. This was years ago and I had learned it was more like being their mother.

"How about this one?" It was morning now and probably seemed odd to have spent so much time asking cats their opinion on my outfit, but I wanted to wear something nice and simple. The problem was, cats weren't very good at helping with these things, so I tried to go with the flow after five failed reviews.

It was still early and I slipped on some stockings, heels I was still getting used to walking in, and something short with long sleeves, I wouldn't normally wear. A short black wig and a light application of makeup finished the disguise.

"Alright, everyone. I will return later. You remember the plan."

I seated myself and waited, admiring the sunlight streaming in through the windows. It was warm and pleasant, urging me to nap.

My habits were hard to fight so I just ordered a coffee and kept my eyes on the door of the Note Blue. The only redemption of the moment was the habit I had of taking my portable laptop everywhere I went. Turning the volume down, I played The First Strike, not having played in a while.

Before Light and Matsuda even had the chance to pass by, the bells by the door jingled as a girl walked in and made a beeline for a table in the middle of the room. Her perfume was overbearing, outfit a costume, and I recognized a wig in broad daylight from this measly distance. Not to mention her glasses were fake too.

I would have assumed her to just be a cosplayer if I hadn't noticed the hovering shadow behind her.

This had to be the second Kira...

'Here? She wasn't going to meet him at the Note Blue? Was she just sitting around until it opened?' Hours passed and the girl had ordered an ice cream dessert of some kind to pass the time, her eyes never leaving the window.

I could have left now, but I wanted something; assurance.

When I saw Light and a group of people pass by with Matsuda picking up the rear, I saw her stand after muttering his name the way it was spelled in kanji, but I heard 'Yagami' and froze. Then I heard her talking to someone named Rem, saying she was only in the area today to see him. The café was mostly empty, so she had to have been either referring to herself or the shadow behind her.

With that, she left the café and I sat in a shocked daze, not expecting to be right in my explanation.

'Had it really been this easy?' The second Kira was a female and she had been able to see Light's name like the words in a book. She was going to look him up now? Is that what she had said?

I needed to get back to L.

Driving back, having used Watari's vehicle, I steadily made my way to the elevator.

This was the result I had wanted, yes, but for it to be true...Shinigami existed and the girl from the café could see their names.

In a mild fugue state, I knocked on L's door before stepping into the room. L was seated, stacking his sugar cubes onto a spoon. When he didn't hear me say anything, he glanced up and blinked, his face blank as usual.

Finally feeling the pain in my feet, I removed my heels and set them to the side of the door.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to borrow your bathroom." His eyes left my person as he nodded (I think) and went back to playing with the sugar cubes.

Ridding my face of the make-up and splashing my face with water at the same time, I forced myself to return to reality.

The girl had been so easy going and normal. Light was Kira and this girl was the second; she'd confirmed it herself by saying his name.

Just hearing her talk to her Shinigami had blown my mind. This was almost as life changing as finding out I had abilities involving cats when I was ten. L had to know, but how would I word this?

I exited the bathroom with my wig in one hand but my contacts still in since it was still light enough out to make me uncomfortable. L had drawn the curtains closed and was sitting in his usual spot.

"Feeling better now?" I neatly sat on a couch near him, my hands lying in my lap as they were conditioned to do before I spoke.

"Yes and no. I was never feeling bad, so to speak. I just can't explain it. I did as I said I would and sat in the café, playing my game and then, this girl came in. You have the video feed, don't you? Please tell me you had cameras in the café or of the entrance to it. And thank you for closing the curtains."

"After you told me of the Note Blue, yes, I had cameras installed around the area." Without me having to say anything further, he turned on the TV and fast forwarded.

"There." I murmured, spotting Light and his group passing by. As it played, the girl had stayed in the café for about five minutes prior to leaving.

"It's her. She was in a disguise too. Does she look familiar to you at all?" I heard him 'hmmm', but falter.

"No. Why?"

"I can't place where or who, but she just seems so familiar, and her perfume memorable. If I smell it again, I'll know it's her. She also had a Shinigami following her."

"She will likely contact us again soon if this is true," L muttered, eyes lingering on his coffee before glancing up at the screen again.

"And you're sure she didn't see you?"

"Of that, I have no doubt. She went straight for that table."

"How do you think she knew it was Light with so many?"

"I have no idea, but she took advantage of her cosplay look and talked as if she was repeating lines or something."

"Thank you, Suzu. You should get some sleep. You've done well today." He stood and stopped next to me, his hand lightly gliding over my head. I moved into the gesture involuntarily, enjoying the mild affection until I realized what I had done.

When I gazed over my shoulder at him, he had his back to me and his hands in his pockets. It was almost as though he hadn't done anything at all, and I shrugged it off as him testing my cat faults.

Adverse to most contact, he had tested to see if I would react to being pet and had perhaps been amused when I had 'passed the test'.

I stood and took my leave.


	6. Misa the Yandere

Aside from being right and winning, patiently waiting for results was my third favorite thing about a case. I loved sleeping and while nights were best spent in a dark closet, day naps were best had in a bed with plush pillows, surrounded by cats. The sun wasn't a burden so much as another thing to keep me warm.

In my hurry to pack, I had overlooked my puzzle stack and was forced to spend my free days online or napping; total heaven.

I didn't get a call from L until a few days later. It was still considered afternoon when I heard his barely hinted at English accent, shadowing his words. Like most things about L, it was strange in a good way, but it made me want to go back to sleep.

Unless he raised his voice, it was lulling and soothing.

"Bast, I know you're awake. We just received another message from the second Kira." I sat up at those words, my hair fluffing about and sticking up in places.

"I will be there as soon as possible." Shaking away from sleep's hold, I yawned and shuffled into the bathroom to wash my face and get into disguise. I hopped reflexively, narrowly missing a sleek Bombay, one of the most affectionate cat breeds in existence.

Once I finished, I rushed down to them and quietly entered the room. After a quick exchange of polite 'good mornings', we got down to business.

"This message was postmarked on the twenty-third," Watari announced before the Kira symbol showed once more.

'So, it was that girl. It has to be her.' I speculated, being watchful of Light's expression. His barely salient astonishment at the words told me he hadn't met up with her later.

'She really got up and left, then.' I met eyes with L and couldn't help my glee as a small smile slipped. It probably looked twisted or cruel. Light was incredibly flustered under his male equivalent of resting bitch face.

When everyone else left, I noticed Light hadn't moved. His dark eyes were examining me as though he was trying to pin down something.

"Miss Suzu, may I speak with you for a moment?" Light's cordial question irked me. He was such a false nice guy.

"Of course, Light. What is it you wanted to speak with me about?" I think I heard L heading to the bathroom.

"I was just wondering how you were feeling? I heard you fell ill a few days ago and couldn't go with Matsuda and me to Aoyama. You look like you're back to full health now, though."

"Oh, that. Yes, I'm well. Thank you." I had been raised to be polite and patient to even the most arrogant of people. What was he trying to learn now?

"We don't really get to speak with one another unless it involves the case. Do you mind me asking why it feels like I've seen your face before?"

My polite smile widened a smidge and I debated on telling him or not.

"Probably because I was at your entrance exam ceremony with Ryuzaki." Veering my head off to the left, I pretended to muse further.

"Then again, I was on the second floor so perhaps you saw me at your tennis match with him; quite the close game, if I remember." I commended and relished the moment as he stiffened and grew more and more uncomfortable with every example I gave.

"Or the café you showed him the day he tested you and your father had his stress caused heart attack. Oh, and I was in the lobby that day as well."

"How did you manage to follow us around all day?" Light tried to laugh off his nervousness, but I went in for the kill.

"Aside from my skills in computer technology, I have a gift for being everywhere I need to be. You would have spotted me if you and Ryuzaki hadn't been so deep in conversation."

"More often than not, I don't even need to be there to know."

___3rd Person Light___

'What nonsense was she spouting? Didn't even need to be there? What crap. She's probably just trying to scare me.' Light was certain she was pulling his leg or something.

"Like Aoyama?" He challenged, grinning internally.

"No, I was in Aoyama on the twenty-second. Just like you, Matsuda, and those people you were with. Honestly, I only saw when you passed the Note Blue."

'What?'

Ryuk cackled boisterously behind me and Light had to focus on her to prevent myself from glancing at him. This woman caught the smallest of reactions.

"Why were you hanging around the Note Blue? Weren't you out sick that day?" He asked as casually as he could and was irked by her nonchalant shrug. She reminded him so much of L, it pissed him off.

This woman, whatever her name was, was even worse.

"I wanted to do some independent research when I saw a possible clue. Aoyama and Note Blue both have the word 'blue' in them, right? So, as ridiculous as it was, I just decided to go with it to see if anything would happen." He saw her deep green eyes flash.

"And wouldn't you know it, I got lucky." Her sharp-fanged smile unsettled him until her words reached him.

'If she had been there and seen someone's Shinigami as a shadow, then she may know who the second Kira is already.'

"As for an example of how I can be somewhere without really being there? Simple, I have spies." There she went with her dark smirk again. Suzu had the appearance of a naturally pretty but lazy girl. Until he had heard about her out maneuvering him all those times, he had been wondering what she really brought to the table. All she seemed to do during their meetings was sit on her ass and nap.

"Oh, I do have a clear example for you."

"Yes?"

"The bus jacking, Raye Penber, and Naomi Misora." Her words were whispered but he had heard them all.

"What are you talking about?"

"Hm, indeed."

'Now she was playing dumb?!' Light had had it with this infuriating game for one day.

"Nevermind, then. I'm going to have to go now. My dad is probably getting impatient waiting for me."

"Then I bid you good evening." She bowed as he headed for the door out like a dog with his tail between his legs.

Later that evening, Sayu called for him, saying he had a visitor from class returning a notebook. She introduced herself as Misa Amane and showed him her death note, holding it out for him to touch so he could see her Shinigami.

\---Chisuzu---

"Misa Amane," I muttered when I came to, having never gotten used to possessing one of my friends. L had requested a test of my less human abilities and learned its downside; I pass out.

"Really?" The weird part about his skepticism was he didn't seem as doubtful as usual.

"Yes, but I would have to be around her again in order to confirm it. Longish blonde hair, huge blue eyes, and I remember she was wearing black lace thigh his with her gothic themed outfit. I want to meet her in person to see if she smells the same. Dupin was unable to detect a possible Shinigami." My hand went out to Dupin, the Abyssinian whose mind I had just borrowed. He was the first to join my now more than plentiful clowder and I went to him most often for favors involving spying through possession.

Exhausted from the trip he'd taken by foot, he rested on the arm of the couch nearest me. My hand went to my forehead, suddenly feeling heavy as I dropped it back to the cushion.

"Suzu, how are you feeling?" L handed me a trash bin and I promptly vomited into it. His response was to place a tissue box next to me.

"A little mortified a man witnessed me throwing up, but otherwise in need of some ginger ale if you have it." I hid my damaged pride behind a few tissues as I wiped my mouth.

"My apologies. The longer I am away, the harder it is to come back."

"Is that why your nose is bleeding?" He inquired and I snatched a few more tissues and tilted my head back.

"Yes."

"How come Dupin is simply tired?"

"Dupin didn't go anywhere aside from physically when I possessed him."

"That would explain it." I was already in a vulnerable state and didn't bother to try withholding my surprise when he stood, went into the smallish kitchenette and returned with a cold bottled of ginger ale.

My eyes immediately went to his outstretched hand, staring until I realized what I was doing, and accepted it graciously. This was the first time where I had needed something while it was just L and myself. Typically, to move things along he would simply call on Watari, but it was ignorant of me to assume he would do so all the time.

"You are already notably clumsy while plagued heavily with fatigue and I would rather you not risk injury attempting to move around before eating something." He then set the bowl in his other hand onto the coffee table. I recognized the smell of peppermint and reached my hand out to one after taking a few drinks of the ginger ale.

"Is this peppermint tea mochi?" I think this was L's way of being considerate.

"Yes, lactose and chocolate free. Would you tell me the story of how you came to be who you say you are?"

"Bast? I have no idea, but it's only my soul that connects me to her as a reincarnation. As you rather wordily mentioned earlier, my body isn't compatible with her soul. Bast is depicted as a slender and agile woman. My hips tend to offset my balance more often than not, which makes being able to ask creatures agiler than myself for favors exceedingly helpful. Since I wasn't born to parents with any possible connection to Bast, my only thought is a random selection." I explained, trying one and smiling at the coolness and refreshing flavor.

"I like it. Thank you." I suddenly didn't care about the small bundles of blood soaked tissue sticking out of my nostrils as much.

"Sure thing," He said after a while.

"If I'm right, which I should be after all the trouble Dupin and I went through, we should be receiving the last message today."

Sure enough, later that day, everyone from the Task Force was called in. I was thankful for their timing as my nose bleed had long since subsided.

It was hard to keep from giggling as I saw L's less than amused expression at my being right earlier. He was such a kid sometimes.

Light's presence made it easier to be professional, though the obvious change in tone in this message was weird, scripted even. Almost like the second Kira had been told what to say.

There was little energy in this one compared to the others.

I moved back a ways, closer to the police members of the Task Force, watching the verbal duel of logic and 'What would Light do if he were Kira?' until the chief cut in.

When L mentioned his feeling of friendship for Light, I had to focus on L's hands to refrain from laughing outright.

Light was one of the many that fell for L's well-placed trap, figuring him completely helpless in social matters. I was again reminded of L's sly capabilities.

At the notion of L and Light hanging out together at school more often, I frowned. Now that Light Yagami and Misa Amane have joined forces, L going out in public would be riskier than before.

I sent Mulder and Scully to follow him.

When they returned a few hours later with news involving the blonde haired girl again, along with a man tailing Light, I sent a look to L.

"Her speech pattern matches the one in all but the last message. They say she was so happy to see him, she jumped and tackled him to the ground."

I giggled.

"They also say her voice is too squeaky."

The next morning, I entered the room groggily to find L identifying evidence found on the tapes and drinking coffee. Everyone was there not including Light and from the face the senior Yagami was making, L had already told him words I still didn't want to hear.

"Ah, Suzu. I'm going out for a bit. Wanna come?" The only reason he would want to leave this building is to sneak attack Light.

"Sure. Can we stop by a store on our way back? I need to pick up some house cleaning products."

"Of course."

"Then let's go."

We sat on a bench and L read while I went back to gaming on my laptop. As immersed as I was, it was easy to pick up on Light's arrival. There was a woman with him, mature yet proud to a fault. She was too reserved to be the second Kira no matter how you looked at her, but when he quit walking I knew he had spotted us.

As they began speaking to one another, I closed my game down, catching every word of L's preemptive strike of the day.

I seemed to suddenly exist once my laptop clicked closed and I smiled at him good-naturedly. Light paled a little shortly after I felt him seethe; a good sign. The exchange may or may not have gone unnoticed by L, who was working his feet into his shoes and suggesting we hit the cafeteria.

With a bit more mumbled small talk, I heard a running approach prior to hearing her chirpy voice. Initial ignorance in play, she only saw us once she had eyed Light enough.

I didn't miss the brief realization on Light's face when he saw Misa examining L and me intently. Fortunately, she caught my lack of interest in her obsession as she kindly introduced herself. While returning the favor and giving our names, I caught her eyes floating to a spot above our heads. She paid special attention to mine, puzzled for some reason.

I had no doubt she was using her eyes to see our real names yet I wasn't afraid. It was even amusing to watch her stare so obviously, glancing from one of us to the other.

It was about time for Light to feel absurdly happy with himself, but I heard L laugh a bit when Light peered behind his shoulder at him. When L finally spoke, he went in for the kill and mentioned nothing of her being suspected as the second Kira, instead saying he was a fan.

Life and death battle set to break time, I picked up on several things. Her smell, voice, and creepy shadow figure were all the same as the other time I had seen her.

Then a crowd of fans moved in and I quickly backed out of it as they swarmed. Fame was a hassle, but L thought quickly and took advantage of the situation.

Or maybe he just touched Misa's butt, but I have a feeling there was more to it than I could see from where I was. L easily defused the situation and it ended in comedic relief and Misa getting dragged away by her manager.

Reflexively, I covered my face with my hand as I let out a giggle at Light's reaction to the whole situation. Didn't anyone else realize he wasn't laughing along?

One suspicious display after the next.

"We still going to the cafeteria now that the commotion is gone?" I inquired and L nodded while Light mumbled out something about needing to take a restroom stop first.

'Not wasting any time, huh, Light?'

I just moved along with L, when his phone rang and my face broke into a grin. L was holding a phone out before him and smiling as though it had suddenly turned into candy before answering it, catching a glimpse of the little hanging toy oddly resembling Misa and her entire outfit, I coughed into my hand unable to resist smirking at the young brunet.

I caught the entire 'conversation'.

"What do you mean 'hello'?"

There it was, in his tone; one of the first times Light's voice truly matched how he was.

I yawned and continued sauntering on with L until his phone rang.

Misa had been arrested.


	7. Life and Death

When Watari gave the visual, I froze as everyone around me gasped. I knew L was worried and had even heard rumors of his unorthodox methods, but this?

This was too close to home.

'Calm down. This is nowhere near the same as that day. She's like that because we don't know how she kills yet.'

I gave a look to Chief Yagami when L told him his son was now suspect number one for being Kira.

"Watari says she has yet to speak?" I questioned for clarity.

"Yes, it would seem so." L nodded and I took a deep breath and turned around on my heels and walking out the door.

"Where are you going, Suzu?" Aizawa asked, the first to notice my retreat.

"With her being our most likely candidate for second Kira and her being so doting on Kira, as we witnessed. Misa has likely been ordered to not say anything condemning. I refuse to wait here, staring at this girl until we get a response from her. If Kira does not come to her rescue...she'll eventually break. Watching her do so is another thing I do not wish to witness. Now, to answer your question," I glanced at the screen, shut my eyes, and focused on him.

"I will be in my room."

It's been three days since Misa's arrest.

I don't know how long I had been playing the realistic shooter game I was beta testing for, but I turned when the phone rang.

Not bothering to answer it, I picked up a Bombay and ventured towards the elevator.

"Please, just kill me now." I heard it as I stepped into the room, and hugged Miss Marple closer to my chest while scratching the side of her face to soothe myself.

When I saw the monitor I saw the shadow at her side.

"Yes, kill me."

"We didn't ask her a question," I whispered mostly to myself as I pressed myself to stand nearer.

"Yes, I do." Something was off. Then as soon as that statement had passed her lips it was as though he went back to before.

"Oh, I can't take it anymore. Kill me."

"You can't, no, you can't. Please just kill me." A mixture of the two oddities now.

I was snapped from my daze when I heard L yell. Misa seemed to grow frustrated only to relax as though someone was calming her. When she nodded confirmation about something, I found it hard to breathe.

Then one of her bangs moved, my hand reached out and gripped the back of L's chair to steady myself while Miss Marple rubbed her head against my chin; purring.

L had caught it too for he leaned closer to the screen.

'It touched her. That is a Shinigami and it just touched her. Why? What was going on?' The shadow stayed for a moment and then, I saw it float out of the room.

'Where did it go? I didn't know it could leave? What's going on?' My mind raced, thoughts frantic but I had to stay calm.

I could speak to L about it later.

"She wasn't talking to us," I muttered just loud enough for L to hear prior to stiffly moving to a couch and cuddling Miss Marple to me.

When Misa spoke again, she was different. Calling L a stalker and causing a commotion to start among the other Task Force members. She knew what she had been arrested for, yet now she had amnesia?

In the midst of everything occurring, the tension was temporarily broken when Misa Amane called L a pervert. Hiding my face in the fur of my loyal Bombay, I smirked and took a breath to ease the urge to giggle. I wouldn't have been able to stop if I had begun.

Suddenly, spouting casually that Light was her boyfriend when she had been so tight-lipped before added to the new puzzle.

'Was the Shinigami her power? No, that didn't make any sense. There was something more; had to be. They took her memory of something when they left with only the smaller things remaining.'

The more important question now was, where had Light been all this time? Misa was the clingy jealous type, so why would he be hanging around other girls? If he was her boyfriend, he would be doing everything in his power to save Misa.

Thinking logically, it was only natural for it to be a guise. He had probably convinced her he needed to be seen in public with them in order to throw us off.

'Or attempt to.' As if on cue, L's phone rang.

I was tired and didn't want to be here at the same time as Light; he disgusted me. The young man made a show of shuffling in silently, even dramatically.

"I could be Kira." Almost as soon as the words left his mouth the chief sprang to his feet and started shaking him and shouting, demanding to know why he was saying such a thing.

L and I met eyes before turning to Light. A little more than half a year ago he was doing and saying anything he could as he tried to move suspicion away from him, now he was spouting shit about subconsciously being Kira and using false flattery to boost ego?

Choosing to watch, for now, I eyed Light's acted out responses to L's idle confession of hiding cameras throughout his home at the beginning of the investigation.

A smirk tugged my lip up as I watched Light falter, face darkening accusingly. It offsets the way he'd been responding before and I knew it had to be his true feelings seeping through.

When Matsuda piped in and backed him up, I let my head hit the cushion of the couches back. Miss Marple licked my face, attempting to get my attention.

I liked what Aizawa had to say much more.

'That's right! Light went out on a regular basis when the cameras were installed in his home.' My head went from Light's stoic face to L's, who was studying him until he felt my eyes on him. If we could communicate telepathically, I was sure we were thinking the same thing.

'Premeditated.'

"I have a question for Light." My feminine voice clashed with the masculine ones of the other team members and they grew quiet as I got to my feet, carrying Miss Marple with me.

"Of course, Suzu. You have been patient so far and I wish to hear what you have to say." L continued to eat whatever it was laid out in front of him, not even shifting his head as he spoke.

Keeping my gaze locked on Light, I made my way towards him until we were a foot away. Light was eyeing me warily, having learned to be so whenever something involved me.

"I'm curious. What is Rem?" From my point-blank proximity and his inability to keep everything from showing on his face, his eyes widened like I had become more of a threat before returning to their original size. The expression was only half about me, though. This Rem frightened the younger Yagami.

"I'm sorry, but have no idea who you're talking about."

"Misa mentioned the name once in Aoyama before leaving the café across from the Note Blue the day you and Matsuda had your little group patrol. With you being her boyfriend and all I was wondering if the name might bring up a memory. However, I find it astonishing you knew it to be a who when I asked what." Once more, I saw him scowling at me under his bangs. For now, I had the last word as he was taken away to be incarcerated.

The intensity of the situation skyrocketed for a time until the chief was calm enough to let Light do what he wanted done. With Light's lies no less. The poor man deserved better than this.

It wasn't until he returned and I saw his face that I knew what he was about to do. I had never been in his position, but having a case going on involving blood being a suspect was depleting. Light's father had lasted a good half a year with knowledge of his son being a suspect dangling in his mind.

L wasn't surprised and even prepared to handle the chief investigator while staying composed.

I said nothing to the man, being poorly equipped to defuse family matters. Miss Marple was sleeping and I felt she had the right idea, so I closed my eyes and rested on the sofa, faintly hearing L dismiss the others for the day.

We knew this had been reduced to yet another waiting game.

I awoke some time later and sat up, seeing L sitting before the now three screens. It was obvious he hadn't moved from his chair much since one became three.

"Ah, Suzu, you're up. Perhaps now you can fill me in on what you wanted to tell me earlier. I know you said she wasn't talking to us and I would like for you to explain." Being careful of Miss Marple, I rose from my spot to wearily approach him.

"He knows Rem. I think he's kept Misa around this long out of fear."

"And the scenario we witnessed with Miss Amane? Does what she said before her sudden amnesia have something to do with this Rem?"

"Rem left and I know her disappearance caused Misa's newly developed amnesia. You saw her bangs move, it was an intimate gesture bordering on loving. I think these Shinigami may somehow be humanoid and capable of becoming fond of humans. "

"What about Light? Is his Shinigami still with him?"

"Yes."

"This situation bothers you." L stated and I glanced back to, Miss Marple's still snoozing figure, not wanting to see the monitor.

"That wasn't a question."

"Do you have a fear of situations like this, Suzu?"

"Yes, and it isn't irrational."

"I don't know how much help I'll be, but I am willing to listen if you want to tell me about it. I do, however, know it isn't anything like claustrophobia if you're sleeping habits are anything to go by."

"Was that honestly the first time you had been accused of being a pervert?" I retorted and L rewarded me with a blank look.

"She caught me so off guard I almost wasn't able to stop myself from laughing." L still said nothing, keeping his monotonous face on as he prodded me, wordlessly. I pursed my lips and sighed.

"Are you sure you want to know?" I was met again with nothing as he fixed his eyes on the monitors again.

"Even if I were to tell you I killed someone?" This caught his attention and I dropped my eyes to my feet. No one else knew about this since we hadn't been missing for long.

"Why don't you start at the beginning?" He encouraged, sounding convincing like I imagine a therapist might.

"There isn't much to tell. My boyfriend of half a year at the time, Naoya Kisaragi, and I had been kidnapped and forced into a game of 'Only one of You Can Leave', pitting us against one another.

I had always played survival games (along with a vast assortment of other types) but never thought I'd be a part of one in real life. For the first hour, we had stuck through it together and vowed we wouldn't do as he said. After another half hour, the person called in and announced that we had just one more hour to kill the other or we would both die. The cell had been strikingly large but as dark, dirty, and dank as any other one might find in movies and video games.

I was tired from a week of minimal sleep and appeared the evident weaker link. He had exploited this and went for my neck as soon as the announcement had ended. Desperate to survive, I managed to grasp hold of a loose cement block and beat him to death with it. The man followed the 'rules' and let me leave. I later hacked who I figured to be the most likely suspect, but Kira had gotten to him right before I could ruin him and make him suffer life imprisonment."

As expected, there was a silence in the room until L spoke up, his eyes on me again, studious.

"So you have a vendetta against Kira?" I felt my own eyes widen at his flippant wording.

"I'm not one to apologize and mean it nor am I one to forgive being so strongly wronged, so yes, I do have a vendetta. I don't believe in justice, but I do want Kira's suffering for what he made me do." A million times. I had explained it in my head, pretending to tell someone else about what happened five years ago a million times without batting an eye, but my voice still cracked and my rage could still be heard.

"Then you moved to the Kanto region." L's voice had never sounded softer or calmer than now, especially in comparison to my own.

L and I were both shocked when the murders ceased entirely after Light was placed in solitary, not continuing even a week later.

Light barely moved throughout his day, the chief investigator wasn't going to last too much longer, and Misa was still going on about stalkers.

His hovering shadow was still there, no longer giving me the creeps. Something was different today, though, it appeared larger almost like it was tangled up on itself. When L referred to Light to get a status report on how he was feeling, the handcuffed man could be seen looking up and mumbling something about getting rid of his pride. I doubt L caught it and I didn't even see Light's mouth move.

They appeared to be magic words as Light's shadow showed signs of untangling almost instantly, even doing a little loop. Then, like Rem before him left the cell.

A pattern was forming, because just seconds after the Shinigami left, Light was exhibiting behavior similar to Misa. He seemed to remember more than her, though and was now frenetically voicing his desire to be freed from his cell.

Everyone seemed certain Light was Kira, but as much as I wanted it to be true it was no longer the case. Something much larger was going on.

A week and a day later, my fears had been confirmed. Two weeks' worth of criminals dead as of yesterday and it even had L put off.

Matsuda however, was getting quite overzealous with telling everyone the 'good news', and I flinched when L swatted his hand away before he could tell Light.

I knew what he was doing.

"It won't matter if we tell him or not." I frowned, grim. Neither Light or Misa sounded guilty. Misa gushed over Kira being her hero and savior while Light's eyes were full of nearly child-like innocence.

"Ryuzaki, I'm going to see if I can pick up on anything using my usual methods."

"I understand." With the Shinigami no longer around either of the younger adults, I felt useless just standing here. Maybe the internet would give me something.

I needed some serious cat therapy.

Fifty days and I was gradually becoming more and more depressed about not being able to find the new Kira. It was my belief that the Shinigami had left the now useless and boring Kira and moved to a more...free target. I had my suspicions about who they were but wanted to wait until we stopped changing motels (if we ever did) to pursue my possible lead.

Light had planned all of this even though he doesn't remember it right now. When the Shinigami return I had no doubts his memories as Kira would too. As well as Misa's memories as the second Kira...would she still have these eyes, though?

It had been the same thing every day. Light was innocent, Misa wanted to see Light and admired Kira, and the chief was more stubborn than a mule about to be given a bath. I knew he wanted it to be true but willing someone to not be Kira was not the method to take.

Light not currently being Kira was harder to explain than my being Bast incarnate.

Aizawa and Matsuda were trying their hand to convince him of Light's innocence today and L was borderline sulking as he licked something sweet off his fingers. The man had the strangest eating habits.

I became both curious and uneasy when L proposed Souchiro come in to speak with him. To me, this was an indirect way of telling everyone else in the room to leave when he arrived so he could speak with him in private.

When he left and I stepped back into the room, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end when I noted the monitor displaying the car with Yagami senior inside and alone for the moment. The man was steeling himself but looked a wreck.

"For a man so near the point of snapping he handles Misa's babbling well enough, doesn't he?" I joked, earning (and promptly brushing off) an exasperated look from Matsuda.

"L, I know what you're doing and after I give you my opinion, I'll leave you to it, but no one there is going to get killed. Light doesn't have that power anymore." I wanted to add 'it left with his Shinigami', but Matsuda was still there, Aizawa returning shortly after handing Light off to his father.

As I had thought, he did it anyways.

Now Light and Misa were going to be placed on surveillance until Kira is found. L made it clear Light was going to be watched by him 24/7 until Kira was brought to Justice.

Light's reaction was completely different from how it would have been if he was still Kira. My observations had proven correct. Whatever power those Shinigami had given Light had corrupted his mind and warped his personality.


	8. Meeting The Conman

While they were heading back, I saw L pull out a pair of handcuffs with a lengthy chain, causing me to smirk and raise a brow at him.

When he cuffed one to his wrist, I connected the two immediately.

"You're really going to do it, aren't you?" He exhaled in response to my awe.

"I'm not saying anything against this, I'm simply wondering how you're going to deal with Misa's squawking."

"Hopefully, she'll get over it soon. With you, Light, and myself working on this case together, we may not have to worry about it taking much longer."

"While we're alone, I have a question for you, Suzu."

"Hm?"

"When you solve cases, you gain information on your client first to use against them later if they threaten to expose you. You had the upper hand and could have simply given me your real name to gain my trust. Why then did you tell me you knew my real name?"

"Oh, you're referring to that conversation. It's quite simple, Ryuzaki. I'm a proud person and the only thing better than knowing the name of someone as discreet as you, is sharing my knowledge with you."

"So you were showing off and decided the best way to do so without risking my life was to only tell me." Rhetorical as his statement was, I smiled brightly at him.

"For someone like me, it's like finding gold in a silver mine. Hacking dirty politicians and cheating lawyers is practically child's play. Getting your name on the other hand...well, I believe I've boosted your ego enough."

"I see. Would you mind keeping Misa and Light under surveillance with me?"

"I don't know how much help I'll be, Ryuzaki, Misa's voice is enough to make me see white noise after a while."

"I have a feeling you're being there will make things easier on both of us." He muttered as we headed up to another floor.

What a curiously sweet thing to say. When I didn't correct L, and simply followed next to him, he gifted me with one of his rare, minute, and brief smiles.

I smiled back and shook my head. Now, that just wasn't fair.

When we arrived, Misa was physically clinging onto Light happily. This changed drastically once L clicked the other cuff onto him.

My eyes wandered over to the exceptionally tense and annoyed men on the couch, my heart reaching out to them as the rating of Misa's actions and words on the ridiculous scale increased tenfold.

When she noticed me, she didn't seem to recognize me; unsurprisingly. There had been a lot of commotion the day we met.

"Wait a minute. Who are you again?" Her tone was already changing to one of suspicion as she glared at me. More specifically, my breasts.

'I am going to kill so many virtual people because of you later.'

"Hello, I am Suzu and I work with the Task Force." I bowed politely in greeting with a smile.

"Oh, so are you like L's girlfriend or something?" Exchanging glances with L, I went back to smiling at her.

"If that placates your overworked mind."

"Whatever. Just don't go trying to steal Light from me and we'll be fine."

"Should be easy since I don't like him." I shrugged.

"About this love at first sight." L chimed in, saving me from Misa's...personality. "It happened in Aoyama on May 22nd, didn't it?"

He continued to provoke her with questions about how they came to meet and what she wore when she went there, advancing gradually to the big question.

What if Light was Kira?

She went back to clinging to Light and rubbing her face against his shoulder, not unlike the behavior of my friends when they were happy or wanted to show some affection.

'I wonder how she'd react if she knew her being a supporter of Kira gave her negative brownie points with her boyfriend's dad.' I pondered idly as I let my eyes trail back to Aizawa and Yagami, both trying to fight how infuriated they were.

Who knows, maybe it has something to do with us all being against Kira for one reason or another. Though, I was pretty sure I was the only one here not fighting him for the sake of justice.

After Misa complained about Matsuda being her stand in manager, Matsuda questioned her and used her girly/childish name of Misa Misa. This ultimately led to Aizawa cracking, startling almost everyone else in the room including Yagami senior. I gained more adoration for the man when he threw her out and told her to go to her room.

When she was gone, I caught L asking Light if he would pretend to care for Misa more than he really did as a way of getting information from her stealthily. Curious and newly entertained by this conversation, I sat down and watched their exchange.

As 'nice guy' as Light's response was, it bored me until I saw L examining him as he thought. L only knew Light while he was Kira, so it was probably odd for him to see Light behave the way he would while he wasn't under the corruptive spell of whatever those Shinigami had given him.

As much as I didn't care for the brunet, he made a good point about all the moving we did. I didn't like it either, it made it difficult to get comfortable in one place, and bothered my cats.

'Facility?' I peeked over L's shoulder and practically purred my satisfaction; I loved it. Didn't care much for the helicopters, but everything else was on point.

"I approve. Does this mean I get my own floor too?"

"It would be easier for you if you did. I know all these transfers are hardest on you, in a way." Light went into some corny rant about 'doing whatever it takes' only to suddenly still have something against taking advantage of a person's feelings.

I lost interest in it after that.

The new security system was top notch and fascinating. Having sent Mulder and Scully to tell the other they could come if they wanted, I was now seated in my room, having built more than one computer in one, particularly vast room.

It was heaven! I could roll in my chair from one side of the room to the other, all the other doors on my floor (the 8th) were open for my cats to roam freely, and the monitors were magnificent. Once I had seen L's, I had based my design off of it, but only using smaller monitors (forty in, so still smaller in comparison).

It had taken me most of a week to construct, strutting around the room in my birthday suit to prevent static discharge (I could have gone out and bought some of those wristband things, but I was too lazy and inspired). There were eight on either size for a total of sixteen and they were stacked and resembled a massive changing screen but on both sides of the room.

Ohhhhh and this room! I had never really pictured myself as the type to enjoy spacious windowless rooms but the sheer size of these monitors took up a lot of space; not to mention all of the cables and cords. At first, I had been worried about the power required to keep all of our technology functioning but there was no lag or crashing while I had tested them.

I was so immersed in my finished product, I squeaked a little when someone knocked on the door. It wasn't until I was halfway to the door that I recalled being nude. I flushed crimson just imagining the awkwardness I just bypassed.

"Just a minute!" Scrambling around for clothes like a woman after a one night stand with a married man, I managed to get dressed.

In my haste, I fumbled a little with the knob but succeeded in answering the door. Behind it was L and Light, who kept glancing at all the cats wandering around, meowing, sleeping, etc.

'Has L already seen me naked?' The question occurred to me when I remembered the first time I had built a machine while in the same hotels as him.

"Oh, perfect timing. Would you like to see my masterpiece?" I opened the door wider for them, waving my arm in a sort of 'ta-da' manner.

"So this is what you've been up to." L surveyed, taking in the mass of cables.

"You did all of this in a week?" Light marveled, making me grin proudly.

"I've been making and improving on the construct of my computers for nearly a decade. None of it would've been possible if this place didn't have the power it does."

"Truly amazing." L murmured, and I blushed. The sheer awe in his compliment is what made it.

"Oh, I came down to ask you to do something when you finished."

"Sure, what do you need?"

"I want you to set up our online security. Are you up to the task?" I was nodding ecstatically before I could form the words to reply.

"Of course. It's not like I would trust anyone else with the task when I have this baby." My hands gestured towards it in near exaltation. I was torn between wanting to hug him and not wanting to make him uncomfortable.

However, Light's presence in the room had made my choice for me as I didn't want him to think we were more than we were. It was the same reason, I hadn't just bluntly inquired if he had seen me naked or not. He may not be Kira now but if he were to become Kira again, then he'd likely still retain the memories of when he wasn't. It wouldn't make sense for him to lose them.

What use did Shinigami have for memories?

"Suzu, I hope you don't mind me asking, but the cats..."

"Those are my friends. I do not own them, they simply like me."

"How do they get around freely in this place?"

"If they really want to go somewhere, they can." I shrugged.

L was standing in the center of my haven, looking back and forth as I had done many a time while making it.

"When can you estimate the completion of our online security?"

"Well, I could start over or I could give myself a small boost and build around it. I'll probably do that. The longer it takes me, the more secure we'll be...I'd say about a day give or take a few hours? I'd be checking and rechecking, allowing myself to combat any threats using my laptop." Diverting my attention to them, I smiled.

"I'm going to need a lot of tea; hamburgers too."

"Be sure to get enough sleep."

"I will, but I want to start this now. The sooner the better." Neither of them yet knew I had already found Yotsuba, the possible new Kira resided with a group of everyone now eligible to become the next CEO.

I wanted to make our security systems more complex in case any of them had more in their head going on aside from killing and work. When it came to my computers, I didn't take chances.

Somehow, after I finished, we ended up celebrating with a 'double date'. The boys were across from the girls and I was sipping my coffee every now and again, desiring its bitter quality more than my usual tea at the moment.

I was as far from Misa as possible, who was upset and trying to get L and I to leave them to their date.

"You can call me anything you like but I'm taking your cake." I caught the ease of his movements, his right foot successfully holding his weight (which wasn't too shocking, considering his estimated weight was maybe 50kg) and not tipping the table over. Just to get cake.

When he finally admitted being depressed for being wrong, I shook my head.

"You weren't wrong, Ryuzaki. You were right. We were right. I say were because Light and Misa were both Kira when you were first introduced to them. They aren't now."

L nodded, going back to the time when both Misa and Light had been in solitary confinement. Light made sense of this and connected that it was likely someone else was now Kira because of all the recent killings starting just two weeks after their incarceration. Seeing L depressed was strange and I wanted to pitch in and tell them I knew of a possible lead.

By the time I opened my mouth, Light had already socked L in the face, freaking Misa out until she stepped in some cake. Knowing L wasn't in any danger more than getting a little beat up, I simply remained in my spot and watched the exchange, knowing it would take his mind off of his being depressed.

When he kicked Light and used the phrase 'an eye for an eye', I raised my eyebrows at the way his body was positioned. Likely being considered too small for normal hand to hand combat, he had been taught a fighting style that suited where he held more of his muscle and overall weight. Weight that mingled in with his skills of planning, he and Light were equally matched.

The only problem was they kept forgetting they were still chained together. Eventually, they started using this in order to drag the other closer to land their attacks.

When the phone rang and Matsuda told them something or other, L's expression was unchanged and he just said Matsuda was acting stupid again.

"Alright." I started as I rose to my feet, getting both of their attention.

"If you're both feeling better now with some of your testosterone out of your systems...I may have found something. Shall we head to the main floor?"

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Light questioned as we made our way down the hall to the elevator.

"I was about to after Ryuzaki confessed feeling down, but then you hit him. Telling you afterward was my next best chance to relay it to you. Now, the group is called Yotsuba and I've been trying to get more information on them, but didn't want to risk starting until we had a better internet shield." Venturing into L's smaller setup, I propped my laptop up and went through the data, showing them the incline of Yotuba's reign over that of other companies.

"Someone in Yotsuba is Kira and they only seem to be killing major competitors, killing criminals on the side. They should be feeling rather invincible right now. Perfect time to strike, don't you think?" I grinned.

"Let's call in the others."

"Be wary. This sort of group would be smarter about their approach, having more to work with than Light did. They're like politicians, so you may notice a suspicious lack of authoritative figures ready to assist us."

Sure enough when Yagami senior and Mogi returned, they brought less than desired news with them. Yagami even went so far as to mention, those police officers still working against Kira would be fired.

"We aren't alone here. I understand your families are important and you need to support them as police officers, so we will not feel slighted by you going back."

"I agree. I will visit you at police headquarters with 'Kira's head' when all of this is over." The debate between L and the officers remaining continued and I lost myself a little when I saw L had tied two ends of a cherry stem together when he removed it from his mouth. I drank some more coffee as my mouth was suddenly dry.

Something about them being more useful as officers from the original organization. I assumed it was a 'four officers does not an organization make'.

Aizawa was having the most notable difficulty here. I had read he had a family to support like Yagami senior, but Yagami didn't seem to have any qualms about quitting the force for a while.

It was hard to watch all of this as Aizawa left, but I went after him.

"Aizawa!" He turned around, seeming shocked at my referring to him.

"Suzu?"

"Yes. I know we do not speak to one another often, but that is because I am usually wary of officers. You and the others have proven yourselves trustworthy, though. I am sorry you have chosen to leave and know Ryuzaki can be hard to manage with his ways of doing things...but I wanted you to know we appreciate all you've done for us. You and Yagami have always been the most obviously serious men on this case, and it means more than you know." I bowed to him, never thinking I'd really do so.

"For what it's worth, it was an honor to work with you." It was the truth, and I reached my hand for him to shake.

"Wish us luck. Hopefully, we'll all see each other again when this is over." I smiled, and his shock subsided. He was fighting tears by this point and I knew he had been one of those kids striving to be an officer to 'catch the bad guys' just like he said. As serious as he was, he was a big softy at heart. Aizawa grasped my hand and wiped his eyes with his other sleeve.

"You should go before you start crying." I smiled as he let go of my hand, nodding and trying to glare at me.

This had probably been one of the weirdest things I'd ever done.

When I stepped back in, L swiveled to me.

"You are a very cruel woman, Suzu."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I muttered, shaking my head.

"He wanted to stay and was near tears when he left, did you make him cry in front of you?"

This guy.

"I was merely saying goodbye."

...L...

Hours later Yagami found a pattern in the times Yotsuba killed and Mogi had organized Yotsuba's employees, Suzu taking half the stack to go through them, frowning as she did so.

It was pretty obvious she didn't really want to be in here right now, preferring her monitors and cats over papers and people.

She had been staring at me rather intently earlier, a look I had trouble reading crossing her face.

Matsuda wasn't feeling useful.

Then I pointed out the new face in the room, who Chisuzu had been staring at for a good five minutes now.

Introducing him as Aiber, the now ex-chief appeared put off.

"You expect us to work with a criminal?" At his inquiry, Chisuzu stopped and turned to him in her spot.

"You only have a problem with him because you met him with a title indicating he was a criminal. What if I told you I was and you had been working with me this entire time without an issue?"

I had not been expecting her to take offense. She was usually so quiet during most exchanges.

"What are you saying, Suzu?" Yagami asked.

"I'm saying you shouldn't judge him simply because he's a criminal. He wants to fight Kira, I say welcome aboard."

The older man sighed.

"I suppose you have a point."

"They aren't at risk for being killed by Kira because they've never been caught." I explained and Light seemed to understand.

In part, I knew I had done this for her and the case.


	9. Any Means Necessary

As we were going through the deaths, I found Chisuzu had been right to be suspicious of Raye Penber's death and Naomi Misora's disappearance. She had been suspicious of Kira's abilities, suggesting he could kill in ways other than a heart attack, but chose not to so as to not set off any alarms about the secret murders he had committed.

Watari's insignia showed on the screen as he relayed an Eraldo Coil was threatening to give away my identity. I could hear Chisuzu snickering from her chair.

"You have your first impersonator, Ryuzaki." She grinned.

"What does she mean?" Light asked, his brows narrowing in puzzlement. Yagami was also worried my identity was at risk since Eraldo Coil was reputably known as the second greatest detective in the world.

"The detective known as Eraldo Coil is me. It's quite simple really. Three of the greatest detectives in the world L, Coil, and Deneuve. They're all actually me. It's been my experience that people who try to find me usually fall for this. I'll give you this strawberry if you promise not to tell anyone." I said, handing the precious red fruit to Mogi.

Chisuzu was quiet but unusually so for the time as she stared at her hands folded in her lap, a mixed expression on her face; worry and amusement.

Just an hour or so earlier I had just glimpsed the tail of a cat I recognized from the tennis match, Matlock, was it? She was probably trying to keep him away from Light in case he recognized her though he may just not like Light. Chisuzu had hinted at this before.

"Alright, I just have to get close to them, right? Leave it to me." Aiber assured after I gave him and Chisuzu a rundown of the plan.

"I'll play your little game until I can get my fingers on their main computer." She conceded, nodding and sharing a look with Aiber. Was that a mutual respect for the other I saw? Well, it would make sense since neither of them had ever been caught, being good at what they do.

"You seem uneasy, it something wrong?" Aiber asked and she smiled wanly.

"I need to go, now. I'll be back later." She murmured, running out the door.

Right after she said that, Watari's insignia appeared on the screen again, saying he'd just picked up on an emergency signaling from Matsuda's belt.

"Is he inside of Yotsuba?"

"Yes, the main office to be exact." I glanced over at where Chisuzu had been sitting, wondering where she had gone.

"Matsuda, you idiot."

\---Chisuzu---

I made it to Yotsuba, sneaking in as Matlock left  
I made it to Yotsuba, sneaking in as Matlock left. He had just gone out to watch over Matsuda and Misa's shoot for me and this is what resulted. Crawling on my hands and knees past security and using the stairs.

When I followed where he was being held, I knocked on the door.

A man with white hair opened the door.

"Who are you?"

"Hello, I'm Suzume Kobayashi, Matsui is my manager and he told me he was going to try getting me to be the face of your commercials." I bowed politely.

"He said he was Misa's manager and was going to promote her." The guy frowned, and I pouted and bopped Matsuda on the head.

"Ow, what was that for?"

"I can't believe you did this again!" I huffed and turned to the two, now thoroughly confused and likely suspicious men.

"Please forgive him. He was Misa's manager way before me so he still gets confused every now and again." Now to see if they buy this.

I smiled brightly and Matsui caught on, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"I'm sorry."

"Have you called her yet?" I snapped, feigning frustration.

"Yeah."

"Perhaps, you wouldn't mind choosing between us for yourselves?" I questioned, grinning at my brilliant plan. When I had checked in on Matlock and found out where Matsuda was, I had sped out and thrown on a random wig, setting both of my eyes to blue.

The wig had been one I tried not to wear often with it being just a few shades lighter than my natural color and longer, waving to mid-back.

They both checked the picture of Misa again and glanced up to me. My make-up had been done in haste as I was heading here by taxi, but I hadn't seen any issues with it.

"Personally, I kind of like Suzume more. Her white hair stands out even more than this Misa's." These people were so stupid. They weren't even demanding to see my credentials or portfolio; nothing.

"Yeah, plus she has blue eyes. You don't see that every day around here. She's sure to get noticed." The other guy, a curly brunet haired man, agreed.

"Really? That's so sweet of you to say!" I giggled, attempting to mimic Misa's typical behaviors.

"Oh, but she's already on her way and we're from the same agency, so we should, at least, let anyone else involved see her and choose, right?" Suddenly acting all of these mood swings out was exhausting, but I pushed through knowing Matsuda's life was at stake.

When Misa arrived in some kind of pink negligee, we entered the room to see a large round table and suits surrounding it; very cliché evil business meeting.

"They're both really cute, but Suzume Kobayashi sticks out more and that attracts attention." Murmurs went on around the room and Misa brought up a special reception, winking to suggest a plan.

I was somewhat terrified but followed along with it anyways. Misa was pretty good at this distraction stuff. Sometimes I forgot how smart she could be.

Spotting Matsuda drinking as I pretended to laugh at this one redhead guy's joke, I saw him leave to visit the bathroom, grabbing Misa's phone in the process.

I couldn't fake the shock I felt when he returned, kicking the door open. The spiky haired man on my right, whose name I was trying to remember pulled me closer to him almost protectively. Watching his display, I realized what he might be doing.

'No way.' I couldn't take my eyes off him as Misa cheered him on, really getting into it while everyone else just stared in bewilderment.

My heart stopped when he slipped and fell from the balcony.

'This had better have worked.' L's plans were so out there sometimes.

Two of the Yotsuba men ran to make sure he was dead.

Then it was everyone trying to get out of there as soon as possible.

"Suzume's still new, so please keep thinking about her for your campaign, okay?" Misa waved as they all exited, worrying about the press seeing them.

A week later, I was sitting with the others. I had a big grin on my face after Matlock got back with me again, sitting on my lap.

One might even be able to say I felt like a goddess, in my own right.

"When did you do this, Suzu?" L asked, scanning the screen displaying them.

"I didn't do anything, Ryuzaki. My cats get the credit."

"Isn't that the one from the match, Ryuzaki? Looks just like him."

"So it does." L didn't pay him any mind as he kept his eyes on the screen.

"So one of these men is Kira."

"My money is on this guy." I beamed, aiming my laser pointer at the screen, circling the spiky red-haired man who I had been flirting and laughing with at the 'special reception'.

"His name is Higuchi Kyousuke and there are only seven, likely because he killed off..." I clicked another button, bringing up the face of the white hair Hatori.

"This guy. Probably for something stupid too."

"Why do you say that?" Light inquired and I shrugged, deciding to give up a secret.

"Because I see a shadow that doesn't belong to anyone else. I think it's Rem."

We all listened on as they just barely touched on the death of one of their own before moving on to the warning and information they received from Eraldo Coil and then it became juicy.

They were on the topic of who to kill next to further their company and in different ways, proving the theory Kira could kill in more ways than one.

Light made some dramatic outburst, saying my thoughts aloud.

"We can only be sure if the people they're planning to have killed actually die. We will continue to monitor these meetings for their actions, words, and the deaths of those they agree to kill."

"If we can connect the two then we can catch Kira."

I jumped when they all exclaimed his alias at the same time, and concealed a giggle when all but one of his marshmallows missed his mouth. For someone so intelligent to do something so illogical...

"What is it? There's no need to yell in unison."

"I can't carry on knowing these people will die."

"Why not?" I interrupted, now confused. Didn't 'any means necessary' disregard morals?

"It's immoral!"

"Right!" His father agreed.

"Here it comes," L mumbled, slightly annoyed as Light went on to lecture him. When it eventually rounded to Light calling one of them, I suggested they not call Higuchi, he was suspected of being Kira but not the most influential candidate.

Light's argument was spot on, so much so we might even have a mole within Yotsuba now. Somehow, this ended up with L baiting Light, Light asking him if he really thought he was really capable of being a killer, and...

L's inevitably blunt answer softened only by his natural voice.

There was a pause on both sides as they locked eyes intensely before attacking one another. This time, being nearby, Matsuda was able to break them up from the get go.

I watched them debate more about this and that, growing rather tired and even dozing off.

"Excuse me, but I think from now on I should go after Kira by myself." My eyes popped open and I think I saw him glance at me as he continued, plopping one sugar cube after another into his coffee.

Honestly, nearly all I had done was watch L eat and do things. I knew an opportunity when I saw one but tried not to be too obvious.

"You may use these headquarters as you like. I'll also be here, but you'll be conducting your investigation independently..." He was still talking but I could only hear white noise.

L had better not be throwing me out of this. I mentally replayed all the dialogue up until now, finding positive results.

'No, he's worried about their morals slowing them down. I think he wants to keep me around since I share his beliefs about truly doing whatever it takes to catch Kira.'

"Ryuzaki, where are you going?"

"Suzu, please follow. I want to speak with you. Sorry, Light. You'll just have to deal." L invited as he kept moving, his bare feet making soft padding noises on the floor.

'We're going to my floor?' I stood, almost entranced though mostly curious, and obeyed.

"We would be going to Misa Amane had Yotsuba chosen her, but they wanted Suzume Kobayashi. Are you truly invested in this, Suzu?"

"Yes, and I know what you're about to ask. I'm in."

"Your life may be at risk."

"Didn't I join this case with that already known? I know the true meaning of the phrase 'any means necessary'. We'll have our guy."

And then some.

"What was I about to say?"

"You can still use Aiber to play Eraldo Coil and let it be leaked that instead of Misa, I was really the one suspected of being the second Kira. Maybe let it slip I may know the identity of L, having been close to him."

"Aren't you at all worried about your own life?"

"Worrying about my livelihood and doing something regardless can be done."

"Yeah, but it makes no sense."

"It does to me. In a situation like this, isn't that all that matters?" I challenged.

"I want to talk to him while he's sober."

"That reminds me. Why did you go after Matsuda that day?" L asked as we made our way to one of my rooms.

"Simple. Matlock didn't get as far as I did and they all know my scent anyways. I wanted to give them an easy route to use by night."

"You saw Rem's shadow but weren't able to pinpoint it then like you'd hoped to." He muttered to himself and I smiled.

"Bingo. Well, I did talk to him during the reception, because he just felt like the most fitting candidate; something in his eyes reminds me of how Light used to look. He's greedy, forceful, and selfish. The perfect choice for a stand-in, don't you think?"

"I really don't like you going on about me being Kira like that."

"And I think you tricked Misa into thinking you cared for her while you were Kira. This Rem is a Shinigami with feelings for her if the gentle flip of her hair was anything to go by." I continued, ignoring Light now.

"I already glanced over his file, he's not the first I've had to deal with. I just have to pretend to be as crazy about Kira as Misa. First, though, I'm going to have to copy and paste Misa Amane's profile and give it to Kobayashi Suzume."

"Mochi, I know you're not one to be boisterous and loud. I'm not either, but we're going to have to play this up, okay?"

"I understand what you mean." He sighed, but gave it a try, honestly making me giggle. Mochi wasn't too different from me, especially now.

This was going to be boring for a while, but it would only make it easier to play my part.

L was a jerk when placed in makeshift director mode, but he was good. I knew what to do.

When Higuchi interrupted the 'interview', I flinched a little despite myself but kept my eyes on the centerman while he passed and I asked if I could go to the bathroom as well (in an honest much need of a break).

Once there, I saw a shadow standing behind me.

'That's strange. What are you doing here?'

"Rem? Is that you? Is there some way for us to talk or for me to at least see you? I want to talk to you about saving Misa." I felt something touch my hand and I watched as a skeletal being came to be; felt like paper.

Amazing.

'Oh, if L could see you now.' I thought as I examined her hovering behind me in the mirror.

"How do you know who I am?"

"I was in Aoyama with Misa. I'm not sure why you followed me."

"Something is odd about you, but I'm not permitted to say."

"Because I'm Bast?"

"Maybe. You're very at ease for seeing a Shinigami for the first time." The voice was almost feminine, and they're anatomy was almost completely humanoid save for them not being anatomically correct.

"I've seen scarier things and people in games. I've been wanting to talk to you."

"I already know what will save Misa?"

"What, killing L? You really think that will save her? How about we have a quick little talk?"

This had better work.


	10. cats Can't Commit Crimes

She had agreed to my plan since I reminded her of Misa and I told her I would prove I cared about L as much as Misa did Light, but showed it in other ways. In my case, I had to save him from being killed by someone with this 'Kira power'.

'I can't believe it worked.' I thought, in a daze as I entered L's expansive main room. The high ceiling suddenly made me dizzy.

'Saving Misa, saved L? Alright, I could do that.' Garbled voices like static in the background could be heard, but I felt like I had a nearly impenetrable force field around me as I contemplated everything.

I was pretty sure Mogi was letting everyone know I got the part. Light's bitching being easiest to filter out.

'She never said anything about Misa being happy with the situation afterwards, so maybe she understood logic amidst her own feelings for Misa.'

This Shinigami thing was a real ride to just think about.

Rem hadn't really told me anything, but she didn't need to. Her silence told me everything.

"Suzu?" His deceptively warm voice made coming out of my reverie more difficult.

"Hm?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, just...today was a very new experience for me, that's all. I didn't know it would be so exhausting." I admitted as I vaguely heard Mogi tell everyone I made the campaign.

"I heard you did well today. You should go rest for a while."

"I'm going to game some and take a little....cat nap." I felt distant, out of body even.

I removed my makeup and the rest of my disguise. This stuff may really change a person's looks, but I hated how I could feel it on my face.

My bath was nice and quick and I changed into a light knit sweater and loose palazzo pants, somehow making my way to a room with my cats.

The air conditioning had been on all day and it was so refreshing to just move around aimlessly.

What better way to think of a plan?

I splay out on the cool linoleum, enjoying the contrast of warm and cool on the back of my arm and legs where the fabric had moved up. Closing my eyes, I could hear them meowing and purring as though they were in the background.

'I just had a conversation with Misa's Shinigami...how do I continue from here?' My cats weren't doing it, this time, they were most helpful for cuddles and relaxing.

Gaming will help me focus. Peeling myself from the floor, I padded to my computer room, lit only by the glowing hue of the monitors.

'Let's shoot something this time.' Choosing a racing game, I wrapped my hands around the two controllers I'd attached to the arms of my chair, my fingers fitting between the grooves of the grips, thumbs gliding over the red buttons on top.

Once I'd muted the 'in-game music', it became more immersive.

Higuchi was the obvious answer, but I wanted a plan. I had gotten his number after I'd left the bathroom that day and he'd been texting me ever since.

Persistent fellow.

'You seem like one of the more laid-back members of this team, so I feel most comfortable giving you my number.' Using the helpless and trusting method with him was the way to go, it seemed.

'Hook, line, and sinker.' I grinned as a helicopter went swirling to the ground.

I texted him and set up a time and place to meet up after I...snuck away from my upbeat and kind hearted manager.

'Sorry, Mogi.' He really was a good man. So much so I almost wanted to apologize to him.

Pausing my game and kicking off the ground to push myself towards the other side of the room, I giggled and checked the next location for the next shoot, finding it to be near a hospital.

'Men like Mogi won't question a girl's need to visit the restroom and it was the best go to for blending in.' Going through their 'job openings' option, I surveyed their uniforms and cringed a little.

'Just think of it the way you did your Aoyama disguise.' I told myself before considering my options. Uniforms like this weren't hard to get from cosplay or fetish shops, but usually I could only find this amount of chest coverage in a cosplay shop.

Wheeling back to the other side again, I continued to play my game until I really grew tired.

'Maybe I hadn't really thought this through.' I considered, realizing I'd have to wear two different wigs one over the other. Something I had never actually tried before.

'Pretend to be Misa. Pretend not to care about how much your legs are showing. And most importantly, until the last possible moment...pretend to be a complete ditz.' I applied my make-up differently in the mirror, figuring I'd just have to hold one wig while I removed the other. I had covered my Yotsuba disguise wig with a longer red haired one.

'If I use a darker one I'm worried Mogi will suspect me as I use brunette wigs around the Task Force, and I can't use an unnaturally colored one because hospitals here don't usually hire people with hair dyed blue.'

By this point, with all the wigs I had been using and the new ones I had been buying, I was surprised they weren't all paranoid of me.

I wanted to scoff in annoyance and even sneer when he came up in some sleek sports car. Assuming he was materialistic, I doubted I'd be far from the truth if I said he was the type who cared more about his cars than the chicks he lets in them.

It was best to appeal to him and gush over it, bending forward and pretending to admire the vehicle.

Having dealt with seemingly asexual men like Light and L, Higuchi was easy to read; it was almost nice. Too bad he was a pig.

I hadn't brought any of my electronic devices aside from my flip phone, being forced to toss the clothes I had done the shoot in along with the bag I had the clothes in. All I had to do now was get him to spill.

The hardest part here was speaking casually to him when I was used to being polite to everyone.

"Hey, Suzume." Not contorting my face in disgust when he spoke was hard to not do as well.

"Huh?"

"How about we grab a bite to eat?" How would she respond to this?

Part of me really hated knowing she was a better part here, but using her would be too risky and Rem would have come back to her and likely used this chance against L.

"A good meal sounds pretty nice after all that hard work today, and if you try anything I can just kill you." Second Kira or not.

"You're joking, right? You can kill people?"

"Well, yeah. I'm the second Kira." His temporary silence told me he was thinking of the chances of this being true. With what little information I had gather from Rem, most of this was going to be guess work.

"You don't have to lie to feel safe being alone with me. I'm sure you'll find that I'm quite the gentleman."

'Oh, I'm so sure.'

"You want me to prove it? I'll only do that for the real Kira."

"Why only him?"

'Come on, Chisuzu, you practiced for this so make it count.'

"Don't you know? I've only ever killed for him, I want to marry Kira. Once he knows it's me and how devoted I am, he'll never want me to leave his side."

'Hold your composure and pretend. Remember your lines.' He was quiet again and this time I had to use guess work. Had he believed me?

He busted out into maniacal laughter, nearly making me cry out in shock at his outburst.

"Well, since I happen to be Kira, does that mean you'll marry me?" No way. It worked? I thought he would make this just a little more difficult but I already had a verbal confession. His expression now was laughable, but I held it in as I played my part.

"R-really?!"

"Yeah, I mean it."

"Then prove it to me. We can prove it to one another." I was so excited it had been this easy, I willingly touched his arm.

"I can't do that. It'd be pretty incriminating to let someone witness how I kill people."

"Would it really? I'm willing to prove I'm the second Kira to you if you're really Kira."

"How about you kill someone then."

"Alright, but I only kill bad people."

"That's right, I remember. Here, then." He said, pulling off to the side and showing me his overpriced laptop.

'Oh, baby, you haven't been well treated, have you?' I pitied the little machine, so poorly secured. I had already hacked the thing to learn more about him and it had only taken a few minutes.

Higuchi went on to tell me about the guy and what he did.

"Would you be able to confirm his death right away?"

"Yeah, I could call him."

'Of course you could.' I wanted to hop out of this car and escape, but I had a good thing going here.

I just needed Rem to work with me.

"Okay, then. Would you mind turning around for a moment?" He handed me a pen and I nearly stilled.

A pen? What? Rem had mentioned a notebook being the weapon, but even I had a hard time believing her.

Peeking over my shoulder at Rem, I saw her writing on some paper in her hand.

She hadn't been lying. She was proving she could be trusted by killing this guy for me.

When she stopped and met my eye, I knew.

"Okay, go ahead and call this guy."

When he did so, I had been so caught up in hiding the shock of my discovery, I almost didn't catch his face changing.

The look of fear and awe was so immense, I forgot my thoughts, and smiled brightly as I gave him a giggle and a little wave.

Now a surprise of a different sort happened as he adjusted my chair back, and hovered over me.

"So, if I'm Kira, you'll marry me, right?" He got so serious all of a sudden.

"Well, yeah, but you have to prove it first." I smiled.

"I can't do it now. I can show you when we get to my place."

"Stop and think for a second." I lightly chided, pushing him off of me and back into his own seat.

"Isn't that a little risky for a girl to go to a guy's place so late at night? You may just be trying to get me alone with you so you can take advantage of me. How about this? Stop killing the criminals on tv? I'll accept that and if you're really Kira, it should be cake, right? Then, when I tell you to, you can start up again. If it matches up, I'll believe you. Kira's the only one that can do it that way."

"I see what you mean. That's a good idea. Alright, Suzume, I'm Kira, so in order to make you trust me and believe I'm Kira, I'll stop killing criminals for the time being. Once you're convinced I'm the real thing, then we can get married."

I still can't believe this worked.

When I arrived back at what I now called home, I made a beeline for the doors. Frowning when it beeped angrily at me, I backed up and dug into my bag for the electronic skeleton key I had been working on and updating as often as Watari likely updated this thing's security.

When I pressed it and heard the delightful sound of a machine's approval, I stepped in and proceeded to hurry to the nearest laptop. I had left mine upstairs in case L tried his hand at snooping.

"Suzu, where have you been?" Mogi started, concern dripping from his every word.

"Just listen to this." I said as I uploaded the file. In my excitement, I had forgotten I could simply have played the recording on max volume.

"So, if I'm Kira, you'll marry me, right?"

"Well, yeah, but you have to prove it first."

"I can't do it now. I can show you when we get to my place."

"Stop and think for a second."

"Isn't that a little risky for a girl to go to a guy's place so late at night? You may just be trying to get me alone with you so you can take advantage of me. How about this? Stop killing the criminals on tv? I'll accept that and if you're really Kira, it should be cake, right? Then, when I tell you to, you can start up again. If it matches up, I'll believe you. Kira's the only one that can do it that way."

"I see what you mean. That's a good idea. Alright, Suzume, I'm Kira, so in order to make you trust me and believe I'm Kira, I'll stop killing criminals for the time being. Once you're convinced I'm the real thing, then we can get married."

Even hearing it now, I can't believe he was so stupid. Higuchi was as easy to hack as his unloved laptop.

"I went off with Higuchi to trick him into saying all of this. I didn't want to go off on my own like that, but I felt it was my only opportunity." I had tricked Mogi but I had made up for it, so there was no need to apologize.

This had to happen my way or I'd feel no gratification.

I watched as the others herded together, save for L, who sat on his own with his coffee and sugar cubes. Sitting in a chair next to him, I scooted closer and leaned to his ear.

"I know how Kira killed people without us seeing him do it." His head didn't move, but I caught his body stiffen for a second.

"When I was in the bathroom, Rem made herself known to me and I may have convinced her to help 'the good guys'. Saving Misa was the only thing she wanted. When I was 'proving' myself to be the second Kira, Higuchi lent me a pen and I Rem write something I can only assume to be his name on a piece of paper. It has to be some special paper. While I was in the girl's bathroom, she touched me with a piece of it so I could see her as more than just a shadow." I kept my eyes on the group, chattering away excitedly, led by the ever-enthusiastic Matsuda.

"Going back to when we intercepted the second Kira's journal...I'd say that Note Blue thing I came by near the word journal sounds a lot more like a code than a coincidence, don't you think?"

Spinning leisurely away from him, I came across Light, who held suspicion in his gaze.

"How'd you get him to confess?"

"Higuchi? Simple, I convinced him I was the second Kira. It's better me than Misa, right? You know since they don't have my real name." I didn't need to tell L we still needed to find the book responsible.

"Suzu," L started, cutting off whatever Light was going to say.

"Yes?"

"Have you been able to get cameras in Higuchi's house yet?"

"He has an electronic damping room and it shuts out all electronic waves. Why? Do you need me to infiltrate it?"

"If you can."

"That almost sounds like a challenge. Speaking of, I'm almost done recreating the shredded documents. You'll know when I've gotten in as I'll temporarily take over your big screens. If we're lucky, he'll have his house riddled with cameras. The inside of his special room may be untouchable, but the outside is fair game."

The room was silent for a moment.

"You want inside his special room, don't you?" Maybe I had been aware of what he was doing, but I went along with it anyways.

"Yes, and I would have taken the opportunity to just seduce him and have him show it to me, but the other method is much easier on me."

"This other method being?"

"Just a little recon mission." I smiled as I sauntered out of the room.

It's been a while since I used Miss Marple for such a task but she seemed to enjoy getting into new places as long as it was temporary and posed little to no risk of harm.

When taking over a feline, it is quite obvious your physical capabilities are limited. It is less so when there are more than one and I switch up enough times I have a near hive mind and panoramic view of the inside.

Plotting out how I'd spend my darker hours, I watched as L questioned Light and Misa about their memories as Kira and the second Kira, agitating and distracting them from me as I slipped away.

Even after all the years I've spent doing this, seeing myself sleeping from another's perspective was weird and I took a moment to recoup before moving out.

Bringing along four others, the group was made up of Miss Marple, Matlock, Feluda, Scully, and Mulder. A regular squad of cat detectives. It was pitch black out when we arrived and we surveyed the perimeter for anything useful, just in case. Finding nothing, I realized why Yotsuba was poorly secured in comparison to Higuchi's living space. It was 'less incriminating'.

His laptop too, oddly enough, making me grateful he had only heavily armored up his house, so to speak.

He only had a dampening room, so nothing in the room could be touched by outside electrical forces...the rest of the house was fair game and I played the classic card many people on TV play; You hack the cameras, copy a basic night recording, and then set it to constantly replay said recording. His garage was unlocked and the door had an elongated handle rather than the usual knob, making it easier for paws to pull down and push open with applied weight.

One by one, we all filed in and moved for the only door separating us from the inside of his house. A little bit of acrobatic work and the knob turned to swing open.

Peeking around, I sent all of them on a quick run of the mostly carpeted downstairs. Miss Marple had a small camera attached to her newly placed collar, feedback routing to L's main monitor. Everything in here lacked personality. This guy had paid everyone to set things up for him.

'And I thought I was lazy.'

Carefully marching up the steps, we all went around to Higuchi's room, to hear him lightly snoring from the other side of the door; good.

The damping room was easy to spot as its doors were the strangest in the house.

With the coast clear, the others left as planned leaving me with the door.

'Rem mentioned this door, the code is 4-4-5 and success!' The odd doors granted me access to the inside and closed behind me as I took in a full view of the room.

'So this is what a damping room looks like.' I wandered around until I bumped into the chair, spotting what looked like buttons on them. Reaching my body up, I leaned against them, hopping back and hunching like a Halloween cat when an overhead light came on, revealing mugshots of eight criminals.

'Now where was it she said to look? Oh! She left it out for me.' It was on his desk, the words 'Death Note' seeming unreal. I climbed onto an arm of his chair and went to the side that opened up, gently swatting one side after placing my free paw on the back cover.

This was hard without thumbs.

Reading over everything in columns, I found these were the last people he killed.

'This would work as proof, right? Just this footage.' I dug through every page going over every word with the lens of the camera. I needed to be quick, I had already taken up a good portion of time more than I was used to.

'Now, can I?' I pushed it closer to the chair and maneuvered to the seat, trying to get my teeth to grip the notebook.

It worked, but now I had to see if I could leave with it. Yanking my head back, I pulled the notebook with me, only to slide off the chair and onto the floor. Luckily, I landed on my feet, but could I really bring this back with me?

'If someone saw me with it, I wouldn't be able to run from them without tripping on this thing. I have to leave it here. At least now everyone knows what to look for.'

Once I left his damping room, I booked it downstairs. Who knows what was going to happen to me once I got back.

'Here's hoping it isn't too bad...'


	11. Rem, In the Bathroom, With the Notebook

Everything hurt. I could hear meowing, frantic and concerned tones of meowing. Furry heads pressed up against me, trying to get me to move.

I had only half expected it to be like this, but there was no way I could overdo it so bad it could kill me...

Right?

I didn't have time for this. The documents Yotsuba had recently shredded had finished being recreated just a few meters away, and I couldn't get them because I was paralyzed with pain. Why did this happen every time I borrowed the mind of a friend for too long? It didn't make any sense.

This feeling was worse than that time.

I couldn't breathe, his hands had a vice grip on my neck and would eventually crush my windpipe if he didn't suffocate me first.

He was crying, I could see the tears fall every time I gasped for just a little air.

"Nao...ya."My vision was blurring as my own eyes watered, but it was mostly because my brain was having a hard time keeping me conscious without air. We would have both made it if that man hadn't given us a time constriction.

"I have to do this. I'll survive for sure, but you're sick, Chisuzu. Just let me do this. I'm so sorry."

Pain and then...nothing.

My eyes snapped open and I reflexively grabbed the nearest weapon, a cement block. Not a whole one but a chunk large enough to qualify as a weapon. As Naoya was heading to the door, now with a key in his hand I rushed him.

The block slammed into the back of his head with a harsh cracking sound, his face permanently contorted into an ugly expression of shock: Eyes bulging and mouth agape in a silent cry or scream.

The minute the announcement had ended, Naoya had turned on me; even killed me.

So much for the 'power of love concurring evil'.

Checking his watch, I found I had been dead for approximately ten minutes. Why had I opened my eyes and felt like I had just woken up from a deep slumber instead of gasping for air?

Why had it been so easy for me to kill Naoya?

My eyes opened, only to shut almost violently when I saw the light entering through the window.

"Suzu, how are you feeling? You've been out for two days. We didn't move you and your friend, Miss Marple refuses to let us retrieve the recording you attached to her collar." That voice. My back felt so stiff.

When I opened my mouth to speak, my mouth felt too dry and I felt a glass push into my hand. Grasping it, I drank with fervor.

"When we saw her return, I sent Watari with us to see if you were alright as I remembered what occurred last time. Do you remember throwing up before falling unconscious?" I craned my neck to the nearest trash bin, earning much protest from my body.

"Why does everything hurt so much?" My voice was raspy, sounding like I was recovering from strep throat.

"You're probably still recovering. Can you stand?"

"Not by myself."

"Would you mind if we assisted you?"

"Sitting on a couch rather than lying here on the floor does have a nice sound to it."

My eyes were still heavy, feeling like I had just pulled an all-nighter.

"Can you sit up on your own?"

"I can try." I gasped as my back whined at the movement, yet I found myself wanting to stretch.

Not bothering to keep my eyes open, I felt an arm circle around my back and just under my knees.

"Are you sure you want to try that? I'm not the type to lie and say I'm a waif. I probably weigh more than you do."

I briefly recalled his statement from the first time he fought with Light, where he stated he was a lot stronger than he looked.

"I'm just getting you to the couch." I felt his warmth leave me as I sank into the cushions, a groan escaping.

"Miss Marple, let Ryuzaki remove your collar, dear. You hate how collars make your fur itch. Once you get the camera, you can plug it into a computer to get the full visual. If I'm not mistaken, she lost you while in the damping room."

"What happened, Suzu? How did you get like this?"

"I get sick like this often, Light. It'll pass."

"Thank you, Suzu. This should be the proof we were looking for." I felt his hand brush the hair from my face, but I kept my eyes closed.

"If I did so well, then you should reward me by being my lap pillow for five minutes." I joked, my eyes nearly popping open when I felt him lightly lift my upper body, this time, setting me carefully on his lap; the jingling of his chain keeping me from forgetting Light was in the room as well.

"Do you already have the documents?"

"Aren't they on your laptop?"

"Good point," I mumbled, laughing a little.

"I'll be up after this and then I'll get them to you." Not caring who saw, I shifted to face L more and snaked my arms around his thin waist.

"You must be cold often. People as thin as you usually are." I commented, pressing the side of my face into his stomach.

"Perhaps, I shouldn't have gone along with your whim."

"It's too late now. I'll only let go after five minutes. You shouldn't spoil me like this, Ryuzaki, it might go to my head."

For someone without much fat on them, L was surprisingly comfortable to sleep on.

"Suzu, what are you doing?"

"Getting my reward, what does it look like?"

"Suzu, are you taking this seriously?" Light questioned, his voice dubious. My head swiveled back and I glared up at him.

"I'm the second L, so of course I am."

"How come no one else has heard of you as the 'second L' or even 'Suzu', then?"

"Ryuzaki and I have never been publicly introduced to society as our detective aliases. Does it not make sense we've been mistaken for one person this whole time?" I threw out, flippantly.

"That would make sense. I'm sorry for questioning you."

I shrugged and released L as I sat up.

"Goodness, I need some tea." I stretched my arms over my head, parts still aching and complaining as I moved.

"Here." Light said, handing me my laptop.

"Oh, thank you. I'll just... print this now and relax."

Watari soon came in, brandishing a cart with my tea and treats for L, and I beamed at him.

"You're always so thoughtful, Watari."

"It is good to see you awake and well, Suzu." He nodded with a small smile before exiting the room.

"I'll be right back, I need to put my contacts in so I can see and take my wig off." I excused myself to the bathroom, counting myself lucky Light didn't see my mismatched eyes.

He would have said something. Kira or not, he was still a bastard.

Placing a brown wig over my cloud of hair, I grinned at myself in the mirror.

'Soon it'll be one Kira down with one to go.'

Stalking over to the printer, I brought the small stack with me.

"What are these? Death Note rules?" I read from the top and it clicked as I recalled the first few bluish black pages with white scribbly print.

"So, I guess Higuchi brought these for show and tell, likely anonymously sent to Yotsuba but who knows? This is weird, though. Higuchi isn't the sort to care about killing criminals nearly as much as bringing Yotsuba to the top. The footage shows more than criminal names written in this Death Note. Higuchi is a lot of things but he isn't childish with a twisted sense of justice, nor is he very intelligent with the ability to hack into police files undetected. His gaudy security was all done by hires. My guess is he's a copy-cat."

We now sat or stood on the main floor with L looking over the rules.

"I agree. Higuchi wouldn't think about killing criminals and would just focus on the killing of competitive political members and potential business threats. We can focus on this later. For now, we should arrest Higuchi. Hm..."

"You noticed it too, didn't you?" I smiled knowingly, glimpsing the page he was eyeing over his shoulder.

"Looks like it wasn't a tactical flaw on Kira's part, after all."

"What are you guys talking about?" Light asked, out of the loop.

"While we were discussing the likelihood of you being Kira, I mentioned how you could have simply used one of the Task Force members to kill Ryuzaki. The rules of this book say the Task member would have simply died of a heart attack because the order before death would mean killing more than one person."

"Without a way to catch these Shinigami, I'm left with only the ability to catch those they put in power with their Death Notes. With Light Yagami as the main suspect for being the original Kira, it seems that only he could order the Shinigami to pass the notebook onto another whilst losing both his memories as well as the guilt of being Kira. Kira's power can only be transferred by the will of the person who possesses it."

There was a silence between Light and L as they stared at one another.

"We will create a situation where Higuchi won't be able to pass on his power to anyone else. We'll have him show us how he kills."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Task Force members join us.

"How do you plan to do that?" Light inquired.

"I'm going to trick Higuchi using Sakura TV," L replied, not missing a beat.

"With a hidden camera show!" Matsuda piped in, almost making me jump with the sheer power of his enthusiasm alone.

"We'll use the Kira special they air every week. We'll have a three-hour time slot. It'll be announced that Kira's identity will be announced at the end of the special."

"Will they actually buy that, though? This is Sakura TV we're talking about. For all we know, Higuchi doesn't even watch that program." Matsuda's doubt of Sakura TV showed all over his face.

"What about our insider, Namikawa? We could just use him to call Higuchi and say 'This is bad, turn on your TV'? That should be enough to get his attention. We know he'd buy it once he knows the guest is someone who knows his secret."

"So, we're going to use Aiber and reveal he was a spy all along?" Matsuda asked, trying to catch up with the train of thought going along.

"I'm afraid you're incorrect. We will not be using Aiber." L clarified, dropping a treat into his mouth with a 'nom' sound.

"Whoever appears on the show...has to be someone who Higuchi believes he'll be able to kill. In other words, it has to be someone whose name could be remembered easily."

Poor Matsuda. It really pointed to him as I listened in and watched him with pity as he struggled to take this in. With everything L said to reassure Matsuda, his face wouldn't be shown by incident while on the show, he seemed less shocked and more nervous. L then pointed out the possibility of Matsuda dying if Higuchi had made the Shinigami eye deal.

"Do no worry, Matsuda. He won't be able to see your real name. If he could, he would have killed me after seeing my name and the one I gave him didn't match up. Plus, he is under the impression I have the ability to kill with just a face." I stared at L's curved back for a moment before hearing footsteps.

Matsuda had gathered all his courage and stated he didn't need time to decide as he had already agreed to go along with this in order to catch Kira. After recovering from my shock, I smiled proudly at him.

We commenced with this plan the following day.

Light got into character and called Namikawa, giving him no time to recover.

'Yet his voice is so calm. Namikawa Reiji, The Vice President of Sales in Yotsuba and the person least likely to be Kira among the group with how capable he is on his own. Level 4-dan shogi player and his powers of influence are impeccable.'

His nonchalant revealing of his speaking with 'L' to the others made me hide my smile behind my tea cup.

"-but I'll need a favor from you."

"Anything for Higuchi." This guy really was our best bet for assisting us as a mole in Yotsuba.

"What? You know that it's him?" Light's reaction caused L and me to look at him before meeting gazes with one another.

'Why did you have to break character now?'

"So, even the great L can be tricked. Based on your reaction I'm now a hundred percent certain Higuchi is Kira."

Misa prattled a little about how she had guessed Namikawa was smart from looking at his face, only to be shot down by L, who said it was just because Light messed up.

"Come on, Suzu. Don't you think Namikawa is smart?"

"I know he is, but not from looking at his face, Misa. Just because a person is attractive doesn't mean they're intelligent."

"So you admit he's good-looking?"

"Why not?" I shrugged. "I used to date guys like Namikawa all the time. They stayed out of my business as they were married to their work and usually too busy to nose into mine. Plus, I've always had a thing for guys who would do anything and everything in their power to get what they want, being that way myself. My last boyfriend was like that too; his type has its setbacks." I admitted, resisting the urge to massage my neck, now uncomfortable.

A little later, I got a call from Higuchi and rejected it.

"Plan is going well, it seems. Now it's just a matter of time before he calls Mogi."

Moments later Watari announced Mogi had been contacted by Higuchi.

I ate a steak and fries as I listened to their call.

Higuchi being Kira; how laughable.

"My plan is going so well, it's scary."

"You shouldn't be scared, Light. You should be happy." I coughed at this exchange to cover my giggle and ate another French fry.

After hearing his panicked call with the president, I hummed a little.

'Run, little mouse, run.' I smirked as we watched him sweat in his car. I was now glad I had trained Matlock to bug cars when I first got him. Before I took over Miss Marple, I told Matlock to go back to Higuchi's the next day and bug his cars, bringing Feluda or one of the other older cats along to carry the cameras.

We were lucky he had placed the one in this car so well, as he tended to choose more spontaneous locations when he felt like it.

When he spoke, my head shot up at the name.

"Rem, what do you think?" Sure enough, she was in the back seat speaking with him. I said nothing, choosing to let things fall where they may knowing I was the only one who could see and hear her.

"Rem? Who is that? There's no one else in the car, right? It's impossible for someone to be hiding without us knowing and he isn't using his cell phone. Could it be a radio?"

When L denied there being any radios in his car, he glanced to me saying I had done a thorough search of all Higuchi's cars.

Feluda had been brought along for that reason. Where Matlock could place cameras, Feluda was one of the nosiest cats I've ever known.

As he continued talking to Rem, I noticed Light following through with his lack of memory. Misa was the same way.

"If he's talking to someone then it's probably a Shinigami." L conceded, face monotonous as always yet I could sense his sulking from where I sat.

"Perhaps." He followed up, using a word I knew I used all tooo often.

'You're such a sore loser, L.'

"He does have an odd shadow behind him." I nodded, going along with what I could usually see before touching Rem's notebook.

My eyes were drawn to the screens again. Rem was convincing him to continue to Yoshida Productions and even suggested he give up ownership of his death note.

This was too great, Higuchi had already mentioned the notebook, being Kira, and refusing to give up his ownership of it.

L watched eagerly as Higuchi reached into his case and wrote something in the notebook he pulled out. He was slightly more relaxed when he returned to his car, watching the seconds go by on his watch, and then screaming angrily when Matsuda still lived.

"He's making a phone call."

"It's probably Suzu again."

Sure enough, my cell began to ring again and I rejected his call a second time.

We knew he was becoming more and more desperate as he sat in his car, on edge until he took a breath.

"Rem, let's make the deal."

Hearing L say he really didn't want to think of Kira's power being otherworldly made me smile. He could be so honest when he wanted to be. Perhaps, it was more that he wanted to see it before believing it.

I had been a similar way before witnessing it myself.

Higuchi's grin was evil and repulsive. A man like him should never have such power. Give him pointed ears and make him two feet tall and he was an evil leprechaun. Whatever he was thinking, now he was speeding; a cop on a motorcycle chasing after him.

'He thinks he's invincible now.' I concluded as I watched him gas it, the cop ran back to his bike and pursued him until he conveniently crashed into the back of a truck.

I let my eyes wander over to L, waiting for him to call off further pursuit. Instead of doing this, he warned them of his need for only a face now, ordering them to use caution in their arrest. Curiously, I listened as he gave similar directions to the NPA before asking if we wanted 'to join in the fun as well'.

"Sounds like a good time." I smiled, watching as he cuffed Misa.

"I'm sorry to do this, Misa, but I'm going to have to keep you restrained for a while." L voiced, completely unapologetic as he led us to the helicopter pad.

"Suzu, will you be alright?" He was referring to when I almost got sick on the ride to the first hotel from my home. I wasn't surprised he had suspected the possibility of it being the same for other vehicles.

"Oh, I'll be just fine. This is a special occasion, after all." I was having a bubble bath tonight.

'I wish I could see it all go down.' I internally purred from my spot, strapped to the back seat of the helicopter. The cop car road block was better than any I had ever seen in the video games I'd played.

"This wasn't in the cards," I muttered.

"The only one that would do this is..."

"Yes, you must be right." They were referring to Aizawa and other members of the NPA.

I nearly whistled when I saw the sharp 180 Higuchi made, but Watari's skilled take out of his front left tire was, even more, impressive. Having never seen a real life situation like this before, I was feeling really pumped for the conclusion to come around when the side of his car slammed into the wall.

It was only slightly less interesting to watch Higuchi threaten suicide with the gun he'd used to shoot the chief with, but Watari brought the action back when he shot the pistol right from the guy's hand.

'It's not over yet.' I thought as I frowned at Higuchi, curled up and whimpering in his driver seat.

The Death Note was brought to us and I only touched it to appease the others. Who knew it would happen like this? L's freaked out like before, dramatic and loud, whereas Light was quiet.

I didn't care for his reaction to happen immediately, but I saw his eyes change. Then, after a minute, he lost it and I could no longer contain my feeling of triumph.

Light began to laugh maniacally, shocking L and even managing to surprise me. This guy was so power drunk, he had to have been like this since L pulled his Lind L. Taylor trick. Unable to pull my eyes away, I saw him undo his seatbelt and hop out of the vehicle before, in the view of everyone, showing the piece of paper he had torn from the death note before he had given up ownership of it.

He confessed he was going to kill 'the man in the car' with it, but chose not to.

When he turned to us, I knew Rem had done her part, but now, I couldn't find her. L was either speechless or simply observant as he witnessed Light further confess everything.

L, Watari, and I had flown home in the helicopter while Light was arrested, his father heartbroken, but his character newly hardened by the case.

We were all silent the entire way back, and I pranced off to take my bath and spend time with my cats.

"I'm listening, but aren't you one of the people trying to catch Kira?"

"Yes, but Misa's not my main target and I understand you care very much for her. I care very much for my cats and...L." I whispered the last part, feeling weird as I admitted it.

"Anyways, killing L will not result in Misa's living for much longer than the end of the case itself. I will be there and so will other replacements of L's he has successors. If Light is killed, what will Misa do?"

There was a silence as Rem watched me.

"I'll kill you along with L." Why did that sound so much like a bluff?

"You said something was off about me, is it my name?"

Rem continued to stare.

"What is my name, Rem?"

More silence.

"Well, I'm assuming that if you don't have my name you can't kill me. That being said, if you kill L, then I'll have enough proof to make sure Misa gets the death penalty."

"Instead. Kill Light, but do not make it quick and painless. I want him to confess everything and get incarcerated for the rest of his life. I'll convince L to not put Misa away afterward if need be, at that point, he will only truly have proof against Light. With Misa powerless and lacking her memories of when she killed, it makes her innocent. I want Light's suffering, that's it. I know you don't like him either. He's wretched and as Kira, he took advantage of her feelings for him and used her. She's the type to let a person she loves as much as she does Light do that."

"You are doing this to save L?"

"Well yeah. I wouldn't have come here otherwise and you would be talking to Misa. I'm sure you'd rather see her, but I think this plan is much more concrete likely to succeed than Light's. After Light is incarcerated, I'll make sure Misa gets the help she needs."

"You say you are doing this for L, but you do not plan on telling him what you have just asked me to do, do you?"

"You are right, there. I want this done my way without risking L's life as much as possible. I'd rather die again than see him die."

"You'll make sure Misa is safe?"

"She'll never see the inside of a cell ever again."

"Very well."

I hadn't really expected a third Kira to come into play but it had turned out to be a choice of Light's that ended up working in my favor, with his mental state and reputation both destroyed.

'Not to mention a few days before L's birthday.' I considered, sighing contentedly as I wiggled my toes around.

"You know, it's interesting. I could swear, he was going to have the Shinigami kill me. How do you suppose it wound up in my favor?"


	12. Being Human

...L...

Chisuzu had done something. I noticed her gradual lax behavior in the midst of the other's worrying and frequently caught her humming to herself.

It had started when she returned from her interview with Yotsuba, her uneasiness from the interview itself quickly transforming into that all too familiar smirk from the first time I saw her real face.

To this day, after all those months, I remembered how her mouth turned up ever so slightly at the corners and how her mismatched eyes twinkled. It stayed longest that first time but became more fleeting every other time I had caught it dominate her features; holding within it an evil of its own.

This very expression had been there the night Higuchi and Light were arrested. Light and I had both witnessed it, turning to her when she was more silent than usual. Her eyes were on Light, seemingly knowing his fate before he did and sitting in wait.

She cared not for Higuchi as he was not the original Kira; the Kira who had killed her intended target however long ago. She had wanted revenge on Light, after all; his suffering.

I don't think I could imagine any amount of suffering more fitting for Light than his lucidity as he lost control of his actions, only catching on to his thoughts being expressed out loud when it was too late. His eyes shooting lightning in Chisuzu's direction as she observed his arrest from her new spot next to me, seeming pleased at his coherency and knew she was responsible for this unplanned future.

Only a minute had passed after he touched the Death Note, and I scrutinized the change in his emotions. First was the overwhelming degree of victory in his eyes, eyes that changed from wide and innocence back to the narrowed way they were prior to when he'd given up ownership of his Death Note.

At some point, I knew she had found a way to change the course of events while in the Yotsuba building. I had thought to ask her while we were on our way back to headquarters, but she was beginning to look rather green as her determination lessened in her victory, now easily overpowered by her vision showing the passing ground below.

"We aren't far, right?" She asked, her voice giving away her growing queasiness.

"Almost there. We'll be there before you know it and don't close your eyes, trust me it just makes it worse."

I spotted her nod a little as she kept her eyes forward.

"Your hair is getting longer." I idly brought up, hoping to distract her for as long as I could.

"Yeah, I noticed in the mirror this morning and I think I'll grow it out."

Silence followed as I wasn't used to comforting others.

"What will you do now?" She asked, continuing conversation where I left off.

"I haven't decided yet. Honestly, I wasn't expecting the case to end this soon." She giggled in response to my reply.

"I'd apologize but this is the best ending I could think of; better even."

"Indeed."

When we returned, Watari reached her first as she staggered out, attempting to catch her breath. Her recovery was so fast it was as though she had switched places with someone else when we entered the elevator.

We stopped at her floor and she glided out to be greeted by her feline maw, who parted for her as she disappeared into a room.

I gave her some time to relax before entering her room, hearing water lightly splashing as I moved towards the noise. The situation was almost too perfect as I wanted answers and could now get them as we were on the ground once more.

The subdued scent of her soap tickled my nose as I watched her lounging, modesty protected by the bubbles threatening to spill over the sides. The hair she usually hid under wigs was slicked back from the water, the toes usually clad in socks up to her thighs wiggling either to rid them of suds or for no true reason whatsoever.

"You know, it's interesting. I could swear, he was going to have the Shinigami kill me. How do you suppose it wound up in my favor?" I had to divert my attention from her as I was still a man and realized my potential weakness in her presence. Even now, after all the times I had seen her set up a computer naked or in the middle of shedding her clothes, I felt the need to turn away out of respect.

A question struck me before she answered and it was the one she asked me before we arrived.

'What would she do now that the Kira case was over?'

My mind went back to the one time I had touched her casually, surprising myself when I felt the soft tendrils under my hand, slipping through my fingers.

It had been a long time since we were alone in a room together, reminding me of another reason I had cuffed myself to Light; to protect myself from the magnetism between us. Her behavior towards me had me surmising it was mutual.

\---Chisuzu---

I frowned a little at his ease with the words 'kill me', but brushed it off.

"We won, L, so it doesn't really matter now, does it?"

"You had no shock at seeing Rem." He stated and I half-nodded.

"I play a lot of video games so she wasn't all that scary."

"You recognized her." Was he not using his voice distorter? I opened my eyes to see him standing in the doorway to my bathroom, in a staring contest with one of my cats.

His deadpan tone made me smile a little as I sank more under the bubbles in an attempt to feel more comfortable in this unique situation.

"Why are you in my bathroom? I'm a little busy bathing."

"You're covered. Besides, now I can interrogate you and you won't be able to run away." He explained, pulling a nearby chair into the doorway and sitting on it in his usual way.

"You can't trap me in my own bathroom."

"You can get out if you wish, but I have a feeling you are of a more conservative nature." The towels next to him were my only chance, so I would have to answer his questions.

"Looks like I'm at your mercy, then, L. What do you wish to know?"

"When did you meet Rem?"

"In the ladies room the day I had the interview with Yotsuba. Higuchi stopped it, saying it sounded more like an interrogation and I decided I needed a little break too. She touched me with a scrap of the death note after I saw her as a shadowy figure behind me and called her name out by chance. When I convinced her to change her feelings on the matter and she agreed to go along with it, I left the bathroom and Higuchi was there, asking for my number."

"Go on."

"And then I made a deal with her, but she's dead now for some reason so now I don't have to hold up with my end."

"Oh? What was this deal?"

"Misa's life for yours. I'd keep Misa out of a situation resembling Light's current one and she won't have you killed."

"What about Light's Shinigami?"

"Yes, I know. There had to be one around for a time, but I guess he or she wasn't given any further instructions or they simply got bored. I would have to say Shinigami aren't too different from people in many aspects. For instance, their personalities and levels of intelligence likely vary similar to those of humans. Perhaps, they saw how badly Light's plan failed and let things run their natural course."

"You failed to mention your contact with Rem to me."

"You were with Light and eventually, I ended up forgetting to tell you."

"Did you have him killed? Wait, no that's not what you wanted. You wanted his suffering for killing the man that nearly killed you via your now deceased ex-boyfriend." I smiled wryly at his casual mention of Naoya being dead. It was too easy for him to say things like that, and I guessed he had seen too much death and suffering up to this point. All the cases I had read up on and hacked into, all of them were enough to mess a person up, but to see what it had done to him.

I realized I wanted to cry.

"I did die and it was only partly to get revenge on him. Mostly, I wanted to save you."

'Don't make me say it, L.'

"Is that why you were ready to go on live television without a second thought?" This information made no sense to him, I could tell.

"Yes." I peered over at him as I sat up, pulling my legs to my chest, the water beginning to cool.

"I know you didn't have the conversation with Rem yourself and don't see it as a full win, but listen for a moment." I lifted a hand and raised my index, facing him and resting my other arm in front of me on the bathtub's edge.

"Higuchi confessed, now broken and powerless, but alive and under no influence of the Death Note. If it had been Misa, you would have been killed. I hadn't been planning to get caught up in it and chosen for their ad campaign, but it ended in our victory. I think we should celebrate and you should get some sleep."

"Why does my life matter so much to you? You still could have stepped up after I died and solved the case in my stead." He questioned, standing now.

"I didn't want that ending." I camouflaged my pout with feigned passivity, but felt I had answered much too quickly. L was quiet again and I could just barely believe he had snuck up on me with his bare feet on my carpeted floors.

"Thank you, Chisuzu, for saving my life." His words made my insides twist. My chest hurt yet I also had the distinct feeling of happiness as I blushed, head hidden in my arm. This was the first time he had referred to me using my name.

"You're welcome, L." During the entirety of this conversation, I was too aware of him and his movements. Surely, he noticed when I stared at him for just a little longer than necessary as I enjoyed the low tones of his voice. There was a risk of me falling asleep in the bath with him nearby and I already had that problem.

"Well, I've taken up enough of your time for today." After his rather abrupt words, he stepped off the chair and grasped the towels, bringing them closer to the tub, and setting them on the small table of spare bathing products. My eyes strayed to his long, slender fingers again, suddenly finding the cold water easier to deal with.

"Oh, before I go, Chisuzu?" L was in the doorway again now, his head inclined in my general direction.

"Yes?"

"You forgot to lock your door." I stared dumbly at him.

"I see. Would you please lock it on your way out?"

"Certainly. Good night."

"Good night, L." My face had to be red. I quickly wrapped a towel around me and padded into the other room.

What was I doing?

"Actually, L?" What was I even thinking? I didn't do things like this. The floor was getting wet and the cats who felt the water droplets from my hair jumped and scurried away from me. He paused with his hand on the door knob, peering over his shoulder at me again. This time, I was clad rather loosely in a towel and beginning to fall out.

"Yes?"

"W-would you mind staying for a bit? I'll get you coffee or tea...or something with lots of sugar and we can sit and chat some more. When I get back from changing into something more appropriate for friendly conversation, I mean." My face was hot, tinted at least pink from embarrassment in whatever colored towel I had on. It was probably striped pastels or something; it was impossible for me to tell with pastels so I just assumed it was all one color without a dark line dividing anything.

"That sounds nice. Mind if I wait on the couch here?" He was already getting comfortable on it in his usual sitting posture.

"Not at all. That sounds great. I'll...I'll be right back." Gripping the towel to my breast, I rushed back to my room for a simple yukata, pulling plain white cotton socks up my legs.

When I returned, it seemed Watari had beaten me to the refreshments and I smiled at him as he passed in leaving.

"You both did well today." He smiled and I echoed it.

"You too, Watari. I didn't know you were such a good shot." He chuckled a little.

"Good night, Suzu."

"Good night, Watari." I bowed before making my way into the room.

"You're back."

"Yes, I see Watari brought in your sweets. Would you still like some coffee or tea?"

"Tea would be nice. It has been a while since I had some." Somehow, he seemed quieter now.

"I'll be sure to bring you plenty of sugar." I smiled, thinking ahead and placing the entire sugar cube container before him; I had no use for the thing.

"What would you like to talk about?" He kept his eyes on me here, me being his target of conversation now. He had this thing he did, only really looking at people when he was reading them or trying to extract information from them.

Or both.

"You didn't have to trap me in my bathtub to get me to answer most of those questions, but I understand you're used to having to do things like that." I began as I placed the full kettle on the stove a towel still around my neck as I detested hair dryers.

"I am." He agreed, popping a small tart of some kind into his mouth.

"Do you have any more questions about Rem?"

"Do you know why she showed herself to you and not Misa, the object of her emotions?"

"Either because I baited her or because she couldn't see my name and wanted to know why."

"How do you know she couldn't see your name?"

"Because she never said it once and mentioned there was something odd about the information above my head. It is still very strange to think about, having your name and the time you have left above your head. She died after destroying Light's future, did she not?"

"I believe that is what is in the rules. What happened after that?"

"You got her remaining years as the sole benefactor of her sacrifice; I wonder what she wrote."

"So do I."

"She showed us how Kira kills." I casually mentioned.

"She did." He nodded, sipping from his sugary tea as I added honey to my own. "How do you feel now that your revenge is completed?"

I smirked.

"Avenged. You saw it didn't you? That was the face of a man who has spent about half a year plotting your demise so he could continue to 'become the new world's God'. His relief changing to dreadful realization when he noticed what he'd said for all to hear. The best part by far was his coherency. Rem despised him more than I and gave a most delightful result. Apparently, he'll only really spend twenty-three days in there before he dies, but it's enough for me."

"Do you really not believe in justice?"

"Justice is just a pretty way to say revenge; sugarcoated." I smiled, lounging back with my tea. "I don't even think you believe in it, to be honest."

"Why would you say that?"

"You only solve cases that interest you and give you a challenge. Rather selfish, really." Perhaps, it was more that he was losing faith in the idea of justice, after all, he had seen.

"I can't solve them all. Most can be solved by the NPA and other authorities." He shrugged and I nodded, his rationalization of his methods amused me.

"You asked Light once if he had ever been truthful of anything. I assume you are talking about him as Kira. I wonder how often you are honest with yourself." There was this little voice in my head suddenly, berrating me on saying such a thing when I danced around the truth every chance I got.

"You mean will I hold up my end of the bargain I had with people like Aiber and the remaining six Yotsuba members?"

"Yes."

"Would you?" He asked and I found myself taken aback by his inquiry.

"Yes. Speaking of Aiber, where did he run off to anyway?"

"He likely ran while he had the opportunity."

"That's a shame, he was a kindred spirit in his own way." There was another pause in our conversation.

"You wish to stop talking about the case," L stated, eyeing one of the treats before taking a huge bite from it, causing me to shake my head a little.

"I said no such thing, but I doubt I could tell you more than you already know."

"Then how about you tell me about your childhood since you already know about most of mine?"

"Sounds fair. I grew up in Okayama, having always been somewhere in Japan. My family was strict and owned a tea house, they wanted me to run it when I got old enough and raised me into formal language, perfect posture, and traditional clothing." I shrugged, gesturing to my yukata.

"Let's see. My uncle wasn't into it and noticed I had a natural talent for puzzles and the sort, so he would bring books on all kinds of things, yet I didn't see a computer in real life until I was twelve, two years after realizing I had an affinity for cats. It scared the life out of me, but computers were an instant click. I poured hours into books and games to figure out their workings. I would spend every extra minute and even pull all-nighters configuring computers by hand."

"When did the hacking come in?" There was this feeling he wanted to add the word 'illegal' but stopped himself because all hacking was illegal.

"About two or so years after that and I kept it from everyone, even my uncle. I knew it was illegal, but I could access so much more. Eventually, I had enough to move out on my own and so here I am. I've been living here for approximately five years? Maybe." Had I really been away for this long already?

"Tell me more about this friendship with Light." I diverted since I was curious and had never asked before.

"Was there something confusing about it? What did you think it was?"

"A game played by two equally childish characters...one just so happened to be quieter than the other." And more interesting, but I left that unsaid.

"Hm, yes, I can see how you might've translated it like that. We weren't typical friends, were we?" He mused, dropping more sugar cubes into his tea, and loudly slurped from it.

"You had the potential to be good friends if Light hadn't turned out to be such a user. It was likely he had premeditated his confinement and given up ownership of the death note so the personality he had before he was Kira could grow on you and lower your defenses. I'm pretty sure he planned to use this to his advantage after he regained his memories."

"That would make sense."

I blushed, only now seeing what time it was. My conditioned thoughts were a different voice now.

My mother's.

'Being alone in a room with a man is dangerous.' She was such a nag.

"You're tired." He noted, so lightly, I just barely caught it as he examined me.

"I am exhausted and I'm sure you are too." We both stood and steadily made it to the door.

"Get some sleep, L. Retire or at least, take a few years off from this life of isolation you've bubbled yourself into." Before I knew it, I was touching L's face with my hand, finally unable to resist now that he was within arm's reach.

"Will you still be here tomorrow?" It was more proof of his childish nature and I faltered for a few seconds; shocked.

"Yes, I'll still be here tomorrow, L."

"Would you like to talk more then?"

"About anything you want." I smiled, leaning forward and kissing him lightly on the cheek. We both appeared shocked by my action but said nothing.

When he left, I closed the door, my face flushed from the entirety of this time spent with L. It was as though our relationship had been changing while the case commenced and now that we were alone, our attraction to one another had been more obvious.

This was new territory.


	13. Happy Halloween

Three days later, I woke to light scratching on my closet door until a dainty little paw swatted it open, moving to push it out of the way with their head. Now left vulnerable to the onslaught of the sun's morning rays, I hissed under my breath and covered my eyes like a cave dweller.

After recovering from the rather crude wake up call, I rolled off the shelf and stretched out my joints. Eyeing the ground accusingly, I tried to find the creature responsible. A familiar Turkish Van's tail was swaying playfully as he looked away from me.

Matlock, of course.

"I know I said I'd meet up with L on the main floor, but it doesn't mean you have to wake me up at...' I paused, squinting at the digital clock.

"Eleven in the morning. Okay, maybe that is a typically decent hour for waking up, but give me a break. I just solved a case, I deserve a little more sleeping in." He was likely doing the usual cat thing; ignoring me as soon as I started lecturing him on my way into the bathroom to put in my contacts.

My day vision was as terrible as usual, the clock I'd been attempting to read was only a couple yards away.

Shuffling down the hallway I adjusted my right sock, hopping a little. It shouldn't have been enough to knock me into the wall to my right, but I'd managed. Being used to this unwanted skill of mine, the pain didn't stick around for long and mostly stung.

I wanted something minty and I wanted it now, a bonus would be for it to be caffeinated.

As soon as the elevator doors opened I instantly picked up on the smell of coffee, following it with little sniffs of my nose.

"Ah, Chisuzu, good morning. How did you sleep?" L was in his usual spot before a blank screen, sipping from his cup leisurely.

"Good morning, L. I slept well enough, but I need some coffee before the smell drives me insane." I took a drink after adding some peppermint syrup and mixing it.

"That's better. Did you get any sleep, L?"

"Not really," He muttered, looking down into his mug, moving it around a bit and making the liquid inside swirl a little. It was about the same reply as usual.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Do we still not have a new case?" I asked, despite knowing I'd suggested he take a break. They were still looking for cases too hard for authorities to solve and I had told them both I'd be staying to help.

"It would seem that way. Chisuzu, may I ask you something?" This is how he commonly started conversations that were more than small talk. Small talk was difficult for him; not interesting. He tended to go straight for either easy impersonal questions or, most of the time, he asked potentially very personal things.

"Of course," I said, taking a seat next to him.

"Was Naoya the last intimate relationship you had?" He inquired casually as he whizzed through potential cases on his laptop (Watari was a very discerning man when it came to such things). Was no topic hard for him to bring up? This one had caught me off guard.

"Yes and no. As much as I liked Naoya, my relationship with him was purely physical. He and I had trouble talking about some things because of his insecurities and our lack of common interests. Naoya enjoyed taking me out as often as we could with his busy schedule, and would buy me things as his way of trying to make-up for when he was called in for work or had to stay late. He was a good enough lover, though. Staved off my loneliness for a time. My cats are great company, but no amount of them can ever truly replace human companionship."

"Is that why your relationship with him lasted so long? You were lonely?"

"Yes. Well, I believe it was more my being afraid of being lonely."

"Did you ever have an intimate relationship with anyone before Naoya, then?"

"Not really. There was always something off or wrong with them or me."

"Yet you still sought out men like Namikawa? Despite knowing the inevitability of your relationship not working out and the loneliness returning?" Mentally cursing his memory, I tried to word my answer well enough.

"I kept hoping it would be different." I shrugged. There was a slight creaking from his chair as he turned to face me, pausing in his search.

"It's not like they were all the exact same. I tried to find a combination of what I needed and each guy was a variation of that combination. My first relationship failed because I was too immature to notice I didn't like him as much as I had initially believed. Plus, I didn't know I was lonely then, so I stayed with him longer than I probably should have."

"Did any of them know who you were?" I surmised he was talking about my hacking job/hobby.

"I was once threatened by an ex who'd found out by incident. He was a very nosy and paranoid boyfriend, almost always assuming I was online flirting or sending crude photos to other guys."

"And how did you retaliate?"

"By letting him know how fast his comfortable life would be in shambles once I publically displayed the kiddy porn he had stashed in a safely named folder on his desktop." I replied, lazily examining my nails.

"Why did you have a relationship with him if he was nosy and paranoid of you cheating on him?"

"Most people hide who and how they are deep down until they're comfortable around someone. I was the same way, but I had to show you how and who I was from the start, so I could gain your trust. Along with not knowing what I did, none of them knew my real name or how many cats I really had. None were ever told what I was, so I could never build an honest relationship with them. I couldn't be truly outspoken with any of them. You know what I mean, don't you? Thanks to what we do, getting close to someone is usually what ends us."

"This is true." L agreed, chewing on a brownie as he spoke. At first, I had wondered why he was always eating and drinking sweet things, but I think I knew now.

L had been raised solving cases no one else could solve and that had a weight all its own. Seeing death so young did things to people. It did things to adults too, but when you're introduced to it young and thrown into things with death and dead people, it has a stronger effect.

Sweets were likely the only pleasure L got out of his everyday life. Sweets for L and my cats and hacking for me along with sex. Has it really been almost a year and a half since the last time I had sex?

"Chisuzu?" My name brought me out of my reverie and I stared dumbly at him.

"Sorry, yes?"

"Why did you decide to solve cases?"

"Along with computer-based technology lessons and books from my uncle, he also gave me comics and novels. Sherlock Holmes, Dick Tracy, Feluda, Miss Marple, etc. They all solved crimes, which I grew up seeing as puzzles. I wanted to do that too, so I played the detective games until I decided I wanted to solve real life ones." A silence settled over the room again before he replied.

"I had been meaning to ask this for a while, but, do you like me, Chisuzu?" My mouth opened to allow speech, but no words came to the surface.

"Why do you ask?"

"You've been showing signs of interest and even seem to enjoy my company. I've noted your behavior around me when we're alone and while we are not. You seem to prefer being alone with me and I believe you even said you risked your life for my sake." His wide-eyed gaze was intense as he scrutinized me.

'Why did I go and tell him that? Why couldn't I have just done the right thing and shrugged like I usually do to be more mysterious?'

"I do enjoy your company." I nodded, steering my vision down and into my coffee cup.

"And I do like you, L." Finally admitting it was both relieving and stressful as I awaited his possible rejection.

"Would you be opposed to dating me?" He was licking the remnants of cream cheese frosting from his fingers and I found it to be more distracting than a cat toy swaying from the ceiling with bells attached to it.

"N-no." I stammered, glancing away for a moment in an attempt at hiding my stained cheeks." I wouldn't be opposed at all, but wouldn't a relationship pose an issue with you since you don't like physical contact?"

L turned back to his laptop and commenced with the search.

"It isn't that I don't like it." He brought his mug to his mouth for another drink.

"I'm just not used to it." Jolted by his words, I licked my lips before speaking again.

"L, do you like me?"

"Yes, I suppose I do. I trust you almost as much as I trust Watari as you have never tried to kill me or put me in a position that threatened my well-being. You are avoidant but honest to the best of your ability, especially when you're comfortable answering what was asked. The only thing I don't agree with is your hacking and even then, I recognize it serves its purpose as your greatest weapon against criminals as well as the very people you are helping. I want you to know your additional abilities were some of the most valuable while we were working on the Kira case. Admittedly, I found it very difficult to trust you, but over time, I found I had no other choice because everything led to the very reasons you provided."

My face was practically dyed red as it flamed from his praise, even when said casually. We both knew it was just how we were, though. With so few people being trustworthy, we easily become monotonous or uncaring on the outside.

In order to survive, we really had no choice.

"I-I see."

"Do you have a favorite case?" L had these moments where his humanness was more obvious. Like whenever he asked about something involving a case, he seemed more comfortable because that was how his individual world had been constructed.

His life was a mountain of cases with sprinkles on top.

"Not really, but I do still gain amusement from cheating cases or suspected cheaters. Whenever they try to trick me so they don't have to pay me or something like that...it always makes me giggle a little."

"Why?"

"Because a lot of the people who contact me for lesser more personal things, they tend to be rich and assume their bank is the most secure thing in the world. I take the money they owe me after the case is over, yet I still manage to come across some high strung trophy wife or misunderstood and underappreciated husband who's just sitting on their ass, overestimating the security of their account and underestimating my capabilities. If I was so easily tricked, I'd never have made it this far."

"I think I understand. You're entertained by how comfortable people get with their lives."

"Couldn't have said it better myself. Very few people know this, but nothing is unhackable."

"I thought you were going out today."

"Ah, yes. Thank you for reminding me." I smiled as I stood and collected my bearings. More awake now, thanks to the coffee. Not only that, but I had a bit more pep in my step for two reasons.

L and Light; L seemed to want a relationship and I was going to visit Light in prison to laugh in his face because I was that kind of person.

"Would you like for me to record it or would you rather I just say hi to him for you?"

"I'm just glad the case is over with, Chisuzu. Do as you wish." L had really wanted that friendship with Light to work out.

"Then I shall return later. Is there anything you would like for me to pick up while I'm away?"

"No, thank you. Be careful on your way." L muttered before spinning back to his laptop screen. I took a step towards the doors before pausing and getting an idea. Leaning down to L's crouched level, I lightly kissed his cheek.

"I shall. Matlock, would you mind joining me? I know you despise the man." Said cat jumped onto my shoulder from the desk I was near and rubbed his face against mine affectionately.

L seemed to be ignoring me, but after so long of being around him, I deduced he was speechless once more.

Nothing would ruin this for me, but I had decided to wear contacts that were brown as I made my way to where Light Yagami was now being held until his end. Sure, people still stared at my hair, but I had chosen to wear something warm that wasn't a yukata, making it slightly easier for me to blend in.

The prison guards weren't expecting to see someone like me either, it seemed.

"Hello, I'm Suzume Kobayashi and I'm here to visit Light Yagami." I handed the man my credentials and he eyed me for a moment before nodding and allowing for me to pass. Although, he was holed up in a special place here, people like me were permitted to speak to him people involved in his case.

I sat and waited, petting Matlock as they retrieved Kira from his cell.

Safe to say, he wasn't very enthusiastic about seeing anyone.

"Suzu?" He asked over the phone line and I smiled wickedly until his face flashed with recognition, his eyes narrowing until it was impossible for them to do so anymore.

"I have you to thank for all of this, don't I?" Everything about him screamed cold and angry.

"You should know better by now, Light. I'm the type of person to sit between you and Ryuzaki and...just watch."

"You came here to gloat?"

"Of course, I did." I smiled brightly. There were parts of him I liked, like how he didn't beat around the bush.

"Don't pretend you're surprised. I know you want to know how I did it." Mine flashed impish glee when his face twitched into a scowl.

"Go on, then."

"I'm Bast," I whispered into the phone, thinking back to the day I first saw L in person and picturing him telling Light who he was in a similar fashion.

"The second L thing was a guise to throw you off and keep the others from having trouble getting along with me as most consider me a criminal."

"You're the hacker who shut the entire Kanto region down for a day?" Light started, his facial expression no longer changing, but the air around him did.

He was pissed.

"That was over a year ago and I was just getting information."

"You mean you were getting what you needed that day to hack into the cars you played racing games with throughout the area, for a week?" Many people in Japan and other countries around the world didn't know who I was, but Light was the son of a cop. I couldn't resist smiling at the memory.

"I was doing some testing and needed to see how they all compared to the real thing." I had even controlled them all with various controllers, to make it feel more immersive. Besides, who needs a reason to do that? No one died.

"He said you had all those cats there because you were working on finding Bast."

"You believed him." I held back my laughter this time. L would do something like that.

"What did he tell you when you all found me comatose on my floor?"

"He said it was a normal occurrence." Couldn't really blame him for that one.

"Easier to believe. Granted, few knew how I really worked."

"What were you doing?"

"Getting a cat's eye view of Higuchi's home with help from Miss Marple. I have a feeling L still doesn't believe I'm the one responsible for it. It is highly likely he assumes I trained them to break into houses of targets and go after what I need via scent."

"Seriously?" He sounded only slightly more believing than L, I was almost offended.

"Bast isn't just an alias, my friend. I'm surprised you don't believe me since you were given a notebook you could kill people with, using just a name and a face. One supernatural thing exists, why can't another?

"Right. What did you do then?" Light gritted and I grinned.

"I talked to Rem." For a few moments after that, I could visualize the wheels cranking around in Light's skull, finishing off the case using that information.

"She only cared about Misa," He mumbled. My nod made him raise his head to hear my play by play.

"Yes, and you were Misa's 'love at first sight' The man who manipulated her and Rem, her Shinigami. I set her straight, equally appealing to her love of Misa by pointing out how you will eventually fail and take Misa down with you. I spoke to the part of her wishing for Misa to live her life and it took over her desire to make her happy." Light glared at me but he caught the flaw in his plan.

"If I'm not mistaken, it's pretty textbook. When someone cares about another, they typically have two things in mind; the person's safety and their happiness. When only given the choice to choose one of those two things, they choose safety. Survival can lead to eventual happiness and I think we both know Rem knew that."

"She was going to kill all of you, how would that fail?" He hissed, no longer caring to be cordial.

"Well, for one, Rem can't see my name." I smiled almost coyly at his astounded expression.

"Now if you'll excuse me. I have a cake to purchase. Oh, and Happy Halloween." I nodded politely and hung up the phone before standing and leaving the place, allowing the giddy little hop in my step to show.

"I think that went well, don't you, Matlock?" His response was to purr as we continued on to a grocery outlet.

"Hmm?" I stopped as we ventured to a stop by a bookstore.

"Think our crazy smart detective would like comic books?"

I heard nothing but the deafening city dwellers as they passed, all in a hurry to all the important places they needed to be.

"Thanks for your support there," I said under my breath as I ghosted into the place. It was a wonderful spot for such a place, books lined every shelf, and there was barely any dust.

"May I help you, young lady?" A voice from my left asked and I pulled my eyes from the books to a young male face. With his soft boyish face and neat red hair, he couldn't have been more than thirty.

"Yes, actually. Would you happen to have any Sherlock Holmes or Dick Tracy comic books for sale?" The shock registered on his face at my words.

"Unfortunately, we don't have any comic books in stock at the moment, but I can lead you to the crime and mystery section if you don't mind books."

"They'll do. Do you carry Agatha Cristie?"

"Yes, this section is rampant with her work. Any particular book you're interested in?"

"I only want to buy a few to test he'll even like them." I confessed, realizing this may be pointless.

"He? Is this a gift for someone, then?" The man asked as I plucked one down and scanned its premise.

"Yes, and the only things I can picture him liking aside from sweets are books and comics." Was L the sort of person to read Agatha Christie? Somehow, I doubted it unless he was curious to read about the woman I named Miss Marple after.

Oh, screw it. I grabbed a handful of assorted detective books and shifted to the man next to me, his eyes watching me expectantly.

"I'd like to buy these and if he doesn't like them, I know I will." The still nameless bookstore guy took the weight of the books from my hands and I padded after him to the register.

"You know someone with a birthday on Halloween?" His voice was relaxed as she wrapped the books like a birthday gift. Somehow, I could imagine L unwrapping it excitedly.

"It would seem so." I glimpsed his nametag, which read 'Nagisa' in all capital letters.

"There you are. I hope you visit us again." He said after I paid him and I smiled absently.

"Thank you. Have a good day."

Now to pick up my cake order.

By the time I returned, it was dark out and L seemed somewhat surprised by my return.

"What? Did you think I was going to leave forever or something?" His deadpan reaction made me smile.

"Welcome back, Chisuzu." He greeted almost uncharacteristically and I couldn't help but gape at him for a moment.

"I'm back." I finally replied, my face slipping into a smile as I placed the cake onto the coffee table and sat on a couch near him.

"Where is Watari?"

"He'll be here shortly. What is that?" L questioned, his gaze burning into the boxes I had returned with.

"Why don't you come sit down and find out?" I grinned. His curiosity was too cute.

"Ah, you've arrived." Watari sounded from the entryway.

"Glad you could join us." Gingerly, I removed the covering on the cake and smiled at the widening of his eyes.

"Happy Birthday, L."

"I thought you went to visit Light."

"I did and it was pretty satisfying but this was the main purpose of my outing. I'm not one to forget a birthday."

"How are you going to have some if you can't taste sweetness?" He inquired, looking up at me with his large dark eyes.

"I wasn't planning on having any. Plus, I'm allergic to the filling." I laughed a little and sauntered over, placing my gift before him.

"Why don't you grab a piece of cake and open this?"

"I'm an adult, you didn't have to go through the trouble of getting me a gift." He pouted, but I could see a shine of curiosity in his gaze.

"Just open it. If you don't like what I got for you, then I'll just keep them for myself."

"If these are video games, I'll kick you." I let out a giggle behind a clothed hand as I watched him reach out to the box, expecting him to tear it open.

Only to watch mesmerized as he painstakingly took the ends of the bow in both hands and pulled so slowly I could hear the fabric of the bow slide against the wrapping. Was he so worried about getting his fingerprints on everything that he'd get into such habits?

As I surveyed him, steadily unwrapping the paper, it seemed he was trying not to make much noise. At one point he stopped and I shifted my eyes to him, to see him looking at me. Somehow, it felt like he was amused and I even felt like I had been caught.

"Is it odd I've never had the pleasure of reading books like these?" Blinking at him, I found myself gawking as I found he had already opened the box, then closed my mouth.

"Was there a reason?"

"Cases usually. I did read one that day we waited for Light at his school, but that was it. Thank you." L's mouth curved into a small but genuine smile, and I mimicked it briefly before blushing and diverting my gaze to the cake.

"I'm just glad you like them." What was I supposed to do when he looked at me like that? Despite all my experience, he reduced me to this with a smile.

"I have to admit, Chisuzu, I'm surprised you haven't gone to your room to play more video games or something?" I was sitting near him with my tea, watching as he gradually devoured the cake piece by piece.

"I'm not one to leave someone I care for alone on their birthday?" I stated as he stuffed a huge forkful in his mouth.

"Was your birthday really on the seventeenth of May?" My eyes widened significantly at his question before I dropped my head. Of course, he would look into the rest once he had my name.

"Yes, L, it was."

"And you weren't alone, right?"

"I didn't even think of it." I shrugged.

"We were all too busy worrying about the second Kira, I completely forgot to celebrate it."

"That's rather unfortunate." He looked up at the ceiling with his thumb to his mouth. To this day, I believe he was a thumb sucker as a child.

"Chisuzu do you play chess?" L asked suddenly and I nodded.

"It has been a while, go easy on me?" I made my mock plea as Watari brought out the chessboard.

"Nope." He shot me down without the slightest bit of hesitation as he stood from his spot with a plate of cake in one hand and meandered over to a different chair, now seating himself across from me.


	14. The Cats That Like to Cuddle

...L...

I was unsure if Bast had any skill in the game, but there was only one way to find out for sure.

"Have you played before?" I inquired as we set the board.

"Yes, I have. With my uncle and, on the rare occasion, teahouse customers. He was the only one who really approved of me gaining a proper education and setting goals that didn't involve gaining ownership of the place."

"That reminds me, how did your parents react to you moving away and not taking over?"

"Oh, they disowned me." She casually revealed as she watched me move my white pawn to E4. After all this time her fascination with my hands never seemed to let up. This could end up as either an advantage or a disadvantage for me.

At the same time, she had removed her contacts in the dimmer lighting and I saw her heterochromia so rarely up until recently, I had to keep my eyes on the board. We had become closer during the Kira case and I knew she was trying to make me more comfortable by approaching me as a friend would. There were, however, moments when she threw me off.

"So, L, when did you learn capoeira?" Kind of like that. I hadn't really thought she'd be interested in my life when she had hacked into it. Maybe this wasn't a part of my file.

She moved her pawn to E5.

"Naomi Misora recommended I take up some form of self-defense after the LA BB murder case," I informed, moving a pawn to F4.

"I see. It was a good choice. I usually only see moves like that in my fighting games so it was pretty cool to see them up close." She took my pawn and neatly set it down on the side of the board. Examining her hands for once, large enough to be noticeably disproportionate by those who looked, I recalled when she had gently touched my cheek the night we captured Light and another occasion, where she had touched my back while no one was looking. I shifted a little, still feeling her fingers ghost down my spine in an oddly intimate gesture.

I hadn't brought it up, but it had felt almost lonesome, as though she were saying 'I'm here, you know. Pay just a little more attention to me.' We had met eyes that time and she'd smiled, glancing away first.

I moved my bishop to C4 and she moved her queen to H4, putting me in check.

"I thought so too and it made fighting around a chain easy to adjust to." I took a bite of the piece I had brought with me and set my king to A5.

"Have you ever fought anyone before Light?" She asked, setting a pawn to B5, which I took with my bishop.

"Aside from trainers, no."

"Have you ever seen me naked, L?" Thankfully, I had a bite of cake in my mouth which I prematurely swallowed as vivid flashes of her naked at various times popped into my head.

Was she trying to distract me?

"Yes and no. I tend to give you your privacy once I see you in any state of undress." She nodded and moved her knight to F6 and I followed up by moving my own to F3.

"You mean, aside from the time you trapped me in my own bathtub?"

"Yes, aside from that."

There was a silence as she contemplated her next move.

"L, are you a gambling sort?"

With what I was planning and considering how I had staked more than I realized on Bast telling the truth about her abilities (or just lying about them really well) during the Kira case...

"More than I like to think about," I mumbled, placing my pawn at D3 when she moved her queen to H6.

"Would a bet make this more interesting?"

"I'm listening," I muttered, taking a sip of my coffee and watching her move her knight to H5, setting it before her queen. She held up the index finger of her right hand.

"One demand met by the winner. Whether it be as small as a truth or as large as an action. As long as it is humanly possible for the opposed, it qualifies."

"Are you ready to take that chance?" She purred and my response was to place my knight before hers at H4.

Her queen clunks down to G5.

"Are you?" I baited, adjusting my knight to F5, next to her queen. Chisuzu appeared to not have expected my words as her head snapped up to mine, eyes wide and searching. When she calmed, her pawn slid to C6.

Rather than continue along that topic, I sought out another.

"So, has anyone ever found and traced you?" Pawn to G4.

"No, you're the only one I left calling cards for." Knight to F6.

"There are other ways to contact me, you know." Rook to G1.

"I know, but I just felt like leaving you a present." Her pawn knocked over my bishop and took its place.

"You wanted to be seen." I went after her queen with my pawn to H4, chasing it even when she moved it back a tile until she hid it between my knight and pawn.

"I wanted you to know I wasn't hiding anything," She said, eyes widening a little when I brought my queen to F3 and she pulled her knight to G8, retreating.

"Because you wanted to join the Kira investigation." My bishop took her pawn and I now had her in check.

"Because I wanted to get closer to you." She pulled her queen to F6 and I brought my other knight out to sit at C3.

"What was your main motive? Getting closer to me or Kira?" Watching her get so flustered was rather entertaining. Did she even know what I was doing?

"Both." She gritted, pushing a bishop to C5 and I moved my knight up beside it. Eyeing the board she took a nervous gulp of her tea.

"Why do you even like me?" She questioned suddenly.

"I already told you."

"No, you explained why you trusted me." Her queen snatched my pawn sitting at B2.

"Is that not vital for a relationship?" Bishop to D6.

"Don't play dumb with me. If trust was all it took, I'd...never be in a relationship." She admitted, her queen reached A1, taking out my tower.

When I only adjusted my king to E2, she looked confused and snagged my second tower with her bishop as though she were unable to resist.

"We have similar goals and methods." I brushed off, nudging a pawn to E5.

"Trivial." She counters, taking a knight out and dropping it at A6.

"On the contrary, I've read it's a vital part of longer lasting relationships. Check." I muttered when my knight took her pawn at G7.

"True, but what else? It sounds more like friendship qualities." She tucked her king back at D8.

"Would it make a difference if I complimented you and confessed I found you attractive? Light did mention something about you being both smart and beautiful. Apparently, that's his type." My queen pounced for F6, once again leaving her in check. Chisuzu's face jolted up and she stared at me; stunned.

"Like I care about his type. Looks mean nothing to you." She was certainly flustered as she took my queen. She took the bait almost every time.

An opportunist, for sure.

"Checkmate." My bishop made a muffled clunk as it slid to E7. Her eyes fell to the board and she sighed with a wry smile when she saw she was cornered by my bishop, knight keeping her from taking it out or escaping through the other side of her pawn.

"Best two out of three?" She whispered as I smiled.

Two hours and five games later.

"Sneaky, clever, and risky. You even baited me with your pawn. Alright, I lost fair and square. What is your order?" She froze when she saw I had advanced on her. Hands on either side of her face, the thumb of my right swept down and brushed against her lips. Neither of us moved for a few moments.

"Am I doing something wrong? You aren't moving." I asked, breaking the silence as she blinked some of the cloudiness from her eyes.

"No." She barely uttered.

"You've been showing more affection like this lately and I know you enjoy it as well, so I wanted to return it." I saw and felt her quirk a little smile at me.

"I won't force it out of you, but I won't say no either." She licked her lips, her eyes flashing to mine for a moment.

"I want you to sleep in your bed tonight."

"Okay, may I ask why?" She sounded confused yet clearer than before.

"Because I want to sleep with you." I felt her freeze, her eyes fluttering as I let go of her face and stepped away.

"I-I...really?"

"Yes, is that not alright?"

"I just wasn't expecting you to voice it." She cleared her throat and glanced around.

It was already evening.

"Right now?"

"It doesn't have to be. Why? Are you tired?" The Bast I knew would usually announce her leave for sleep when asked or simply escape the room.

"Tired? No, I just, um." Chisuzu's face hadn't gotten nearly as red when I had entered her bathroom unannounced as she bathed. I felt a little smile tug at the corners of my mouth and felt the need to hide it from her so I could enjoy this side of her more.

It was a rare occasion for Chisuzu to be like this, her composure leaving her almost completely as she frantically searched for it.

Part of me was amused while the other wanted to explain the true meaning of my words; words her mind had no doubt twisted into something sexual. So I just waited and observed her as she led me to her room, red face greatly contrasting against the white of her hair.

She almost resembled a candy cane as we wordlessly rode the elevator and again I held back my grin; just a light touch and she would jump.

"Chisuzu." She tensed visibly.

"Yes?" We had just entered her main room and she distracted herself by keeping her eyes on her cats.

"I believe you may have misunderstood my words." I finally let out.

"Oh?" I saw as the embarrassment set in as she considered her behavior up until now.

"Yes, I just want to sleep next to you." Her head fell as she let out a sigh of relief.

"You strung me along for a bit there, didn't you?" Chisuzu had seen through my ruse after my true intent had come to light.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." My thumb to my mouth as I looked away from her deadpan stare.

"I'm going to make some tea, you are welcome to join me." She started for her stove, working her hardest to keep the bit of composure she had gathered.

"I'm surprised you fell for that." I muttered and she coughed into her sleeve covered hand.

"I was so thrown off, I didn't realize the possibility of misunderstanding you." Her words were quiet as she waited for the water to boil, hand still over her mouth as I caught the burning remnants of her embarrassment.

Chisuzu rarely broke character and now I knew she bounced back quickly.

"Honestly, I would have told you sooner but I was fascinated by your change. You've never shown that side of yourself before and I wanted to see how long it took for you to regather yourself."

"I...can't really blame you for that." She conceded, barely pausing as she poured our tea the way she would have if she still worked at her parent's tea house.

She was a true product of her upbringing.

"And here you are." Chisuzu murmured, placing the cup and then filled the container of sugar cubes before me.

"So, you wanted to sleep in my room tonight?" She urged, taking a seat across from me with her own tea.

"Yes, I've noticed a pattern over the last few days. You asking if I got any sleep the night before and my negative response. I wanted to try something."

"You wanted to see if this issue you had, was sleeping alone." Chisuzu finished for me and I nodded.

"Precisely. Do you have any problems with this?"

"Not at all. I actually quite like the idea of sleeping next to someone again. It has been a while."

"How are you able to sleep so well at night?" My question had peaked her interest.

"You have nightmares." She nodded her head, lightly as if my insomnia only now made sense.

"I am no better than the people we catch, L. I depersonalize everything happening, pretend it isn't real, that it's a game. From my time around you, I know you can't do that. You pretend while you're awake but succumb to it while you sleep." Her smile was sad. Gingerly setting down her teacup, she stood.

"Please excuse me. I'm going to go and change into more appropriate pajamas. I would like to do without more embarrassment in the future." Her eyes twinkled mischievously, as though accepting and understanding my actions earlier.

"Of course," I replied, taking a sip of my tea. Once she left the room, her cats paid more attention to me, curling up near me, meowing for me to pet them, and some even going to the lengths of climbing up onto my head.

It was rather funny, how she was so taken aback by our miscommunication she hadn't seen me carrying the rest of the cake with me into the elevator. During most of our trip here, she'd had her straight back to me.

"I wonder how she's capable of taking care of all of you." I pondered in her absence, meeting eyes with a black cat with large copper penny eyes; she had said this breed was called a Bombay.

None of them wore collars, so I assumed her ability to communicate with them or something else made her capable of recognizing them all by name.

"You're one of the more affectionate breeds, aren't you?" I asked them, my hand slowly extended to pet behind their ear. The creature leaned into the touch and released a purr from their throat, the sound alien and more distinct than what I had heard from most of the others.

"You're pretty popular, aren't you?" Came from the doorway shortly before her figure entered my view, her body clad in a deep green pajama set; covering everything yet showing off her feminine curves.

"I've never really taken the time to pet them before. They're all so soft." I scratched the back of one as I spoke.

"If you've ever been around dogs, some are more like them than cats." She smiled fondly at them, her eyes wrinkling slightly at the corners.

It was then she saw the tiny fur covered face of the animal that had made it onto my head, and giggled heartily when it swatted at other parts of my hair.

"How about we get to bed? My biggest worry was you possibly not being alright with cat hair." I daintily reached up and plucked the furry thing from my head. She yawned and rubbed at her eyes.

She had been fighting her tiredness for some time now.

"Sounds good to me." I agreed, standing to follow her.

"I hope you don't mind, I tend to cuddle." She grinned, taking my hand in hers. When I looked down, I noticed the small difference in our skin tones. I had thought her to be pale, but she was, at least, five shades darker than I.

\----------

The chess game they play is a real one you can find on Youtube between Dragon Age Inquisition's Solas and Iron Bull. The original players before the reference were Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritzky in June of 1851. I recommend the video.


	15. I Found You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you're like me, dying animals make you sad. You have been warned.

I Found You

Chisuzu had set a video to play on repeat; ten hours of thunder and lightning storms without rain. We had just laid there on the bed for a time, me asking questions and her answering, appearing more than happy to answer. She mentioned an interest in my life at the orphanage and I told her it was nothing interesting.

"I doubt that's true. It was probably really lonely there, though. Even with all those other kids there. It's tough knowing so much and learning faster than others, isn't it?"

"Did you ever go to college?"

"For a time. It wasn't something I could call a good experience, though. I could've gone when I was twelve or fifteen, but I went at a normal age as Loralie Paoletti." This made a little more sense of this alias's information and meant not everything had been made up.

"Your parents never learned of this?"

"My alias? No, they were in the middle of their own issues. My mother had an affair with my Dad's brother." That didn't seem to fit.

"The uncle who kept giving you gifts and saying you should go out and go to school?"

"The very same. Uncle had taken advantage of his brother's broken and stagnant relationship, swooped in, and..." I heard and felt her giggle a bit in the darkness. We were under a semi thick blanket and my poor night vision could only make out the outline of her figure next to me. She was lying on her back, petting a cat that had curled up next to her.

"My mother had assumed she could use sex to change my uncle, thinking she knew everything about men when she never listened to my father. He had used her for sex while she attempted to get him to stop encouraging me to go out and try my hand at surviving the world myself. Their actions had taught me valuable lessons."

"Even your father's? Did he do anything?" Chisuzu hadn't excluded the man.

"Oh, yeah. He had set up cameras and used the evidence to control her. My mother's image was her everything and she hadn't thought for a second her husband was paying any mind to her and what she did. To this day, her infidelity is a family secret."

"And you still get along with this uncle who used your mother?"

"Well, the real test was really after I plummeted his stocks and demolished his company but he may or may or may not have known I was behind that. He knew the sheltered life I had been raised into and decided to use its downfall as a prime example of how the real world was once you tore off its wallpaper." Her words were giving way to more and more fatigue she had been hiding. In truth, I was shocked she had been able to stay awake this long already while in bed.

She was not one to fight sleep.

"So, he was your teacher."

"Mostly, yes. He was a good man underneath it all." Her words melted into soft breathing as she finally drifted to sleep.

Somewhere between then and now, I had fallen asleep and woken to her body curled up to mine, our legs entangled. One of her arms between our chests while her free one draped lazily over my back, her head a small ways under my chin. Of course, we weren't alone as I surveyed the space around us, trying not to move my head around much. I spotted the array of furry felines decorating the room and bed surrounding us.

It was oddly...nice. Comfortable even. Maybe I could get used to this.

There was a soft moan, almost a growl, from just below my chin and I debated on whether or not I should pull my head back.

I didn't.

"Good morning." Hearing her voice just after she had woken up had been common during the case, yet I still found myself enjoying it. Whether she meant to or not, her free hand kneaded into my back and I felt grateful she filed her nails regularly.

They seemed to grow overnight sometimes.

"Good morning." I returned, blinking my eyes in an attempt to wake myself up.

"I'll make some coffee." She yawned, rolling over and slowly untangling our legs before bending and stretching.

"That sounds nice, thank you." I hadn't slept like that since I solved my first five cases. I watched as she yawned again by the coffee maker, covering her mouth with a cuffed sleeve.

"Your family has pretty much always been Watari, yes?"

"Yes, he found me and brought me to the orphanage at...a very young age." For some reason, it felt alright to give her this information.

As if knowing we were talking about him, the television turned on and Watari's insignia decorated in the midst of white noise.

"I hope you both rested well because I have a case I feel you'll both be interested in." Watari sounded happy, which was odd considering the reason for his call.

It didn't last long.

"Unfortunately, I doubt Chisuzu will like this case much. I suggest you both meet me on the main floor." Then he was gone.

"What do you think he meant by that?" She asked from my side.

"How about we find out because I have no idea." All I knew was his mood was rarely so easy to kill.

We sauntered down to the main floor, Chisuzu becoming more anxious by the minute but was no longer fidgeting with her sleeves.

As soon as her eyes landed on the image, her body was like stone. There was a woman, her stomach flayed open to show the corpse of her unborn child. Next to her was a cat's body, barely larger that of the curled body within the would-be mother. From the picture, she appeared to have almost been ready to deliver.

"Watari, how long has this been going on?" Her hands were fisted at her side as she stared at the bodies. Hers was trembling.

"This is just the first. Apparently, they were discovered a few days ago." This was unusual. Watari rarely ever brought me murder cases that weren't yet serial murders, but I knew why.

"What is this?" I inquired, peering at something near the cat, only to have closer images pop up.

"Catnip." She clarified.

"Do you know anyone who would do this?"

"I have a list somewhere, only made smaller by those with the ability to do something like that to a woman." She peered closer.

"Watari, do they have an ID on the body yet?"

"Yes, she's Yoshino Satomi. She's unmarried and-"

"Her brother, Umeda, has been serving time in prison." She finished for him, eyes moving to me.

"He's a registered sex offender and murderer. Little boys were his favorite. If he's still alive and knows something, we can assume his friends don't know his charges just yet. He's not so important he needs to live, though. Probably won't be able to tell us anything."

"Out of curiosity, Watari. Do they have a time of death?"

"They have it listed as between eleven pm and one am."

"You know the victim or just her brother?"

"Her brother. I made sure he was put away for a long time for what he did to those kids. When I looked through his life, though, I found his sister had registered him for rehab; alcohol. I doubt the parents even knew."

"Was anything found in the cat's mouth?" Another image entered our view. It was a piece of paper, printer ink partially smudged from being in the cat's mouth.

'I FOUND YOU' had been typed in capital letters.

"Do you the culprit is talking about you?" Observing her condition, her body visibly shaking, blood drained from her face.

"Yes, I do. Bast is the goddess of cats, protector of pregnant women, and the daughter of Ra. She is also associated with the night. This catnip...they're mocking her name. I doubt this person really knows Bast is more than my online alias, and it is too far-fetched and terrifying to think they know."

"There's more to it. How do they know you?" They wouldn't have been able to find her if unless they knew her face.

"The only way is by ear and even then none of them know what I look like. I'm not ready to get into this right now. I need...I need my cats." Chisuzu took a few unsteady steps away from the screen before turning on her heel and hurrying away.

"You aren't going to go and comfort her, L?" Tearing my eyes from where she had run off, I stared at the screen, scratching one foot with the other.

"Should I? She said she needed her cats." I wanted to follow her but what if I just made things worse? I had spent a great portion of my life unable to properly express myself. I had also never comforted anyone before.

"They're all she's used to having."

'My cats are great company, but no amount of them can ever truly replace human companionship.' Her words rang in my head as I slowly stepped after her, thinking of how I would approach her when I found her.

This was not what I had been raised learning and nearly all of my experiences around women had been from a different location, safe from detection, and behind a voice distorter.

When I approached her door, I heard something strange from the other side. It was a muffled sound, only becoming clear when I opened the door.

Chisuzu was sitting near the couch, crying. Her sobs would come out every now and then as her more affectionate bunch as well as a few who weren't usually so attentive, pressed their heads and brushed the sides of their bodies against her. I was unable to see her face, but I still knew the sound of crying. There was a box of tissues nearby and a pile had already started behind her.

As though sensing my presence in the room, her head jerked up. This was not how Chisuzu reacted to the death of a human being. She was mourning the death of the cat, a cat she likely knew.

This was not a side of her I knew, eyes red and puffy, cheeks red with streams of tears old and new, strands of hair sticking to her face every now and again.

"Even though he wasn't one of mine...*sniff*." I cautiously continued towards her, taking a seat on the floor a small ways away, just within arm's reach.

Finding myself wanting to hold her like I was this morning when we awoke, I reached out a hand and lightly moved the strands from her face. When her eyes met mine, she hiccupped, and surprise crossed her face for a split second before she melted into tears again.

"I know they die or get killed all the time, but it doesn't feel that way." I wiped a tear from her eye as carefully as I could, still unsure what to say.

So I said nothing.

"Even knowing that...*sniff*...and knowing why I feel that way." Her connection to them was more than humans were capable of. I scooted closer without really thinking about it and our knees were touching.

Either she knew what I was thinking or she was just moving on her own, the way she usually tended to, I was unsure. She still ended up in my arms with her face buried in my shoulder, sobs wracking her frame. It took me a moment, but I wrapped my arms around her, holding her to me the way I wanted to before. Chisuzu had nearly knocked me back, causing me to switch into crossing my legs rather than staying crouched.

Well, trying to. I couldn't get my legs under her, so I just sat on my butt with my legs on either side of her.

This feeling she was having right now, it was how I felt when Ukita was killed in his haste to get Misa's broadcast shut down, but more extreme. Neither of us could've done anything about Yoshino on the screen, the cat beside her, or Ukita.

This was dangerous right now, these feelings. I had heard about things like this from Misa, during her babbling.

'It's only normal to want to protect the one you like. If Light was Kira, I'd do anything to keep him safe.' This described how I felt perfectly. I could feel the churn of anger in me and I gripped her body to me a little tighter. Her arms had come up under mine, grabbing onto my shoulders until the tears stopped coming.

When they did, she was still hiccupping every couple of minutes but didn't pull away.

"Thank you and I'm sorry for getting tears on your shirt." She paused and sighed sheepishly.

"And snot."

"You were mourning the loss of a friend. Even I understand the need to grieve after something like that." One of my hands grew a mind of its own as it began petting her head. She switched shoulders and relaxed into me.

"You want him to get justice?" At the mention of the word, I felt the air in the room change.

"No...I want her and her baby to get justice. My friends would all want and deserve revenge." A corner of my mouth twitched up at her words.

There she was. This sounded more like the Chisuzu I had gotten to know. It was a surprisingly fast change, but it only proved what I had learned last night; she bounced back quickly.

When she pulled out of the hug, her dark expression appeared more sinister with her eyes red from her crying. Both of her mismatched eyes standing out even more on her face. Once it went back to her usual calm, I could see the logic returning to her.

"I'll dig into both Yoshino's and Umeda's records and find out what I can from whatever I can get my hands on. Feel free to join me. I can't say I'll be the best conversation, though."

"In that case, I think I shall. I'll ask Watari to bring something to snack on. Is there anything you want?"

"Some of that mochi he made that one time if it isn't too much trouble." One of her more vocal felines meowed and Chisuzu grinned down at her.

"Boston makes a good point. Tea first."

"Boston?"

"Yes, his full name is Boston Blackie, after a reformed jewel thief. My Boston likes to collect shiny things, so it seemed to fit." She gave a small smile as she padded noticeably faster than her usual saunter.

"Tea...is in the making and should be done a little after I bring a chair in for you and you put a clean shirt on. Meet you in my lair?"

Right. I had almost forgotten in the shock of her mood change. As I started towards the elevator, I heard her call after me.

"I hate saying stuff like this, but this is only the first. We both know that, so when more pop up I'll be expecting you to comfort me again." Her smile was wide and genuine.


	16. You Hide and They Die

\---Chisuzu---

I hadn't been expecting L to make a move to comfort me, so when he had reached out and touched my face, I acted on impulse and leaped at him, clinging to his person and bawling like a small child.

He had not said anything and didn't seem to treat or see me differently after I cried my eyes out into his stark white shirt.

Now I was beyond embarrassed, trying to focus on this case.

There were too many coincidences for this to not be someone after me, which was bad for a vast assortment of reasons.

"The person responsible is either someone you put away, someone who saw you during this case and recognized you despite your disguises...or both."

There was more than one problem with that.

I pulled away from the computer and searched my room. After making these giants of wonder and infinite possibility, I had ended up with enough pieces to make enough of a computer for it to at least look real.

It was my equivalent of hiding a house key under a rock or plant as inside a side compartment of this box, held all my blackmail; terra bytes of incriminating photos, information, and videos. This ranged in levels of blackmail, from adultery and fraud to things much worse than murder. I had things on there that would be all too popular on snuff sites so murder was a medium offense compared to a good portion of what I'd seen.

They had all gotten locked up anyways, it was the minor offenses I kept the secrets of so they'd pass along how to contact me. If they were lucky, I'd help them for a reasonably sized fee, the major stuff naturally costed the most. The ones I 'helped' were the ones who had dirt I could use as well as the money to pay for my silence. When the really horrendous ones were locked up despite contacting me, thinking I was someone who could clean their mess, I went on posing as someone else, saying BAST had denied them of service.

It kept the business going.

Realizing what I was doing, I stopped in my search and turned back to the screen.

"L, how many people do you think I've put away in the time since BAST started?"

"When did you start?"

"Almost seven years ago."

"May I ask how old you are?"

"I'm twenty-five." I couldn't resist sending a glance his way, not really expecting him to react.

"Does you age bother you? You've never brought it up before." Of course, this was his reply; an observation.

"Not really. I actually thought you already knew." I shrugged, mollified with having distracted him from my momentary odd action. I would really rather he not see any of the content on those drives...

Where did I even start, though? I began coasting through common contact sites and reading comments, not really finding anything.

"So this is how you pick your next case?" He surveyed, thumb to his lip as I scanned through another page.

"Just the first half. They pay for the job and my silence. I get money and insurance." I mumbled, not knowing where to start on these weird forums. Until Suzume Kobayashi received a strange email, tucked away in her spam folder, nearly trashed.

I could only stare at it. More people knew that alias than Loralie, so I couldn't really use it to dumb down the number of possible suspects.

Out of curiosity, I opened it and was overwhelmed by the clutter of images that appeared on my screen.

One was of a girl standing in a miniskirt and long curly brown hair, the background a blur but I knew it was a tennis court. Another was a woman with shorter black hair and a mini-dress, seated within a café.

A white haired, blue eyes nurse outside the hospital, about to bend to speak to Higuchi.

At Yotsuba.

They were all me...

'How? Had I gotten too comfortable with my surroundings and not paid much attention to surveillance?' It was always easy to fall into a false sense of security when you'd been somewhere for a while and my misstep was getting too secure in my wigs and color contacts.

"There aren't any of your real face..." He trailed and I found myself mildly comforted by this observation.

"But now I can't risk showing it outside..." I whispered as I stared at them all. This wasn't something I could follow to a source, it had been sent from a newly made and then deleted source. Like when Misa sent all those tapes from different locations; these would all lead to dead ends. The only difference was this guy wasn't using a death note to control them all.

This was a time where there was too much you could do with the internet.

Infinite possibilities weren't always a good thing. Like everything else, it could work for you or against you.

I printed out every photo and then dropped a virus into the file in case someone attempted to hack it later.

"What are you doing?"

"This is how I delete data. I feed it to something and it'll infect the console of anyone that tries to take a look. Since it's mine, I can track it."

As much as I wanted to be angry and depressed, I knew it wouldn't help. I had to have L's monotonous expression rub off on my emotional status.

If this person killed enough of my friends...I might lose my mind and do something really stupid.

"Watari does most of your tech things, doesn't he?"

"He has a higher degree of patience for it." L nodded as he continued to watch me at the computer. I found myself consoled by his agreeing to be here.

It didn't make up for a murdered friend, but being around him made me calmer and I liked that. It didn't stop me from wanting to kill virtual things in my MMORPG, though.

"We won't be able to find out more for a while," L said, voicing the words sitting in my head as I stared at the now blank screen.

"With Kira dead, the locals will cling to the news of a new possible villain." I agreed. We love villains and tend to hate heroes.

Population control did not need to include cats.

"This time, their reaction may work to our advantage." Maybe but it was a long shot and he knew it. My eyes on him again, I was temporarily distracted from my inner turmoil when I saw his thumb on his lips. His eyes lifted to mine and I swallowed as I felt the intensity of his wide-eyed stare.

"You should take a break. Thinking about this too much will only have negative effects on you." I didn't want to accept that, but it was true. I also wanted to hug him.

"You're right." I sighed." I'll just game. As always, you're welcome to stay, but I'm not very good company."

"I'm actually somewhat interested in this game you play in your spare time."

"I play a lot of games in my spare time." Since the beginning of the Kira case, The First Strike had long since made it to its release, with me receiving a free copy as thanks for my beta review. Aside from the particular MMORPG, I played all kinds of games with little to no real preference. Absently, I reached my hand out to my right, expecting it to touch the plastic covering of a peppermint candy bag only to feel air.

So, I peeked out and over my shoulder, spying it at the opposing desk.

"One moment please." I politely excused, before pushing off in the direction of the bag and careening back after I had it in my possession.

"Right, now, which game was it you were talking about?" I questioned before tossing a few of the little orbs into my mouth.

"One I've heard you playing during the case. I believed you named your avatar Bastet." He explained, seeming to be talking about the MMORPG.

"Oh, yeah, in that case, it is the one I thought you were talking about. Here, then I'll show you." I smiled as I brought up a topic I was not only familiar with, but enjoyed. So, for a time after finding out as much as we could about the first murder, I gave L a play by play about what The First Strike was all about.

This effectively took my mind off the murders for long enough to look at it objectively and logically when we rounded back to it.

A little over a week later one of my friends stopped showing up and I was once again a blubbery mess of salty tears and snot bubbles. Yet once again, L comforted me with a comfortable shoulder to cry on.

She was on the screen just like the last, next to another familiar pregnant woman, her once protruding stomach sliced open to display her unborn child; death by exposure to the cold outdoors too soon. This time, they had strung my friend up...

I would have nightmares for a while. This one was done near the Yotsuba building as an additional taunt to go along with the catnip and a 'STOP HIDING FROM ME' message on the ground.

They were saying they knew I had been there. The note left behind this time was tucked under the baby's fetal corpse.

She was a person I had helped. Kana Murasaki was a reformed prostitute, who had hidden her infidelity from her husband because it was the only way she made money and it paid for the heroine she used to be addicted to.

That was before she ended up in arrested for possession. She hadn't spent long in jail or prison and had been released nearly two years ago. I had tried to help her and get her hooked up with a rehab...but she had slipped as many addicts often do.

I couldn't blame her. Since her release I had kept tabs on her, watching clips of her life attach to her file. She had gotten married and was due a week from now.

How many of my clients were pregnant right now? How many were men with wives, daughters, and sisters...pregnant right now? It was sad those not pregnant weren't at a risk.

Or so I had thought. The third week and a half had brought with it more information on our guy or girl. At the same time, it had made me shake with anger and anguish when I found another hadn't returned to me. It was messing with my focus more than anything else, but L sat composed and watchful for me.

"They're playing with us and it is likely they know you. They want you to react like this and may even fell like you have wronged them in some severe way, granting them the right to kill these people you helped as some sort of rationalization. They may even blame you for causing them to go so far as to become a serial killer, but what logic would that serve?" He was pondering things along like this, but today I hurt too much inside.

It was like a huge menstrual cramp, but in my heart, so bad I felt I may cough up blood rather than expel it from my lady parts.

"L, I need you. I need you to use your ridiculously rational mind to tell me something good. Tell me we're closer to finding this guy."

"Are you sure you don't have a list somewhere of all your clients? If it's ever been online, then they could get their hands on it, could they not? How many have you known to know their way around computers almost as well as you do?" Even then, if it was one of my clients...it was still in the hundreds.

My insurance wasn't worth the death of more friends...

I stood and stalked to the door, locking it and turning to him, my face somber; serious.

"What I am about to show you must never leave this room in any form unless I bring it out myself." Solemn, I padded to my hidden false computer, popping open its compartment and gazing down into the mountain of information inside.

My fingers wrapped around one I had entitled 'Names and Numbers 1' before I stood again and I stepped out from behind the cables.

"I have to update it anyways..." Whenever I found one of my clients had died...that's when I deleted their muck of a past, their life, from my databases and added a capital D next to their name. Void of its usual number, which for the living ones usually held a number detailing which drive their blackmail was stored on.

Plugging it in, I sat down again as I grew steadily more depressed. The flash drive held sixty-four gigs of names of clients.

"This is a rare occasion. I will print this out and you and I will both take a computer and look for updated information on all the people still living."

"Good, then we can dumb it down to people still residing within Japan; those who aren't already dead are likely victims." The first and so far only male human victim had been strung up by an ankle like a Hangman Tarot card illustration, an American by the name of Liam Hemmingway; he'd had a five-month date raping spell, videotaping his drugged conquests. Ultimately, his undoing had been putting all of them on the internet, where people like me could find them.

"Right." I nodded, still more scared for my friends than my own life.

At four and a half weeks, my original residence had been found burnt to nothing.

'YOU HIDE AND THEY DIE' posted on a wall by Liam's decapitated body, the head near the cat to let me know he knew how I saw them; as people.


	17. When the Lazy Become Restless

It had been a long time since I had done something like this. My furry friends were on lock down in the building and I knew they all detested using the cat box.

I was tired of losing my friends.

As for L, he was seated near me, he had been my comfort hotline and seemed to have gotten used to holding me as I cried after seven weeks and six murders.

I was tired of doing that too. As much as I liked him comforting me, I didn't like that it was the only time he really felt he could hold or touch me. He and I hadn't found any possible suspects in our search, which meant this guy could be anyone.

Sakura TV was currently the bane of my existence, having named the case 'The Mockery of Bast', after one of the more recent murder notes left behind.

YOU CAN'T SAVE THEM, BAST.

"How many times have you done this?" I was so focused his gentle voice almost didn't reach my ears.

"Five, perhaps? I made a Kira forum to pool information on him. Guys like Light often check in on their fans. If this guy gets off on the fame as much as I think he does, then there's a chance he'll jump on this."

Light had been killed by Misa, who continued her life imprisoned just fine. From the audio and visual feed presented, she hadn't been controlled by the death note and the rules disallowed the killing of multiple people at once; it was cheating.

She had decided her love was one-sided (finally) and felt he wouldn't be able to be happy where he was there, so she put him out of his misery. How is unknown as the video feed cut out after a while and all we heard from that point were his screams and her maniacal giggling. The coroner reported it was a heart attack.

Funny.

You can't talk someone out of a psychotic break, even if you're Light and the person you're talking to loves you. Men and women like her weren't really rare, but they weren't exactly common either; I never did business with them.

Aside from the murders going on, my next biggest problem was how afraid I was of leaving. I may not have left to do much, but I hadn't left this building, out of fear, in seven weeks. If I just isolated myself here for that period of time out of disinterest for the outdoors or something, I'd be fine here.

If L wasn't here, I'd have likely gone mad.

The threatening emails I had been getting became more frequent and I opened another, not scared but angry now as I glared into the screen. It was photos of the building again, like I didn't already know he knew where I was. Here he was all talk with a little hacking prowess.

It was the pictures of dead cats that bugged me no matter how many times I'd seen the same one.

L was on the main floor, doing some thinking of his own, knowing I'd call for him or come down if anything came up.

Meaning I was without a voice of reason, so I spent time creating a direct action virus and emailed it back to sender after titling it 'I know who you are'. Then I sat back, feeling much better.

"Eat that, you asshole." I hissed, acting as though I'd been experiencing lag all day.

"What are you doing?" I jumped, my head snapping in the direction of the voice only to relax when I saw L in the doorway.

"Fighting back. I won't let anyone get to me here after they've burned down my home and trapped me in another." I grinned.

"I think I know their motive, if the timing is anything to go by."

"You too?"

"I think this person was a fan of Kira and blames you for his capture." Well, at least it wasn't Misa.

"Yeah, there's always one."

___Meanwhile___

The desktop came crashing down to the floor, the glass screen chipping around a newly made hole before clinking onto the floor, followed by cursing and stomping.

'She tricked me! That bitch!' He screamed wordlessly in frustration and kicked the dead machine again.

It was bound to happen since the net was BAST's turf, but her staying in that building meant she couldn't save her pets.

He didn't understand the rumors about her and killed the cats because most of the photos he'd gotten had cats in them with her or near her. It was all to piss her off, anger her until she did something stupid, like leave. The cats didn't matter and as long as it hurt BAST, they'd do whatever they could to get back at her for killing Kira. It had to be her and it was her fault this was happening.

Kira had been on to something. If she had just left him alone, the world wouldn't have been much farther from becoming perfect!

'At least I still had my phone.' They thought, answering the message of one of her 'clients'. Destroy her network and it'll eventually destroy her 'business'.

Having calmed they called one up and, as usual, they didn't have to say much.

"I know where Bast is and I know you'd benefit from her end." These idiots were too easy. You'd think they'd have learned after BAST, but some didn't know she knew their deepest darkest secrets.

"Hi-ro-ya!" He smiled a little when she entered the room, referring to him in a sing song fashion.

"Kiwako, sorry about the mess." At his words, she stopped and looked around, noticing the computer smashed beyond repair. Kiwako was small and cute with large eyes and long black hair she was always putting up in different ways. Hiroya had even grown out his own so she could do the same to his.

"I had wondered what that sound was." She nodded, playing with the camera hanging from her neck, nervously.

"What happened?" Her voice was small and he offered her a sheepish smile.

"Bast happened. She bugged my system after I sent her more files. At least she's fighting back now, so it is only a matter of time before she fucks up." Hiroya brought his fuming down to a minimum for her. It was her he was doing all of this for.

They had both admired Kira.

"Did you arrange the plan with some others?" She asked, grey eyes sparkling expectantly as she hugged him.

"Yes, they'll be waiting, but one sounded a little off."

"What do you mean by 'off'?" She wasn't really looking at him and instead was examining the damage he'd done to their computer monitor.

"I don't really know. Like they were really excited to hear BAST was female, but I couldn't get a real feel for if it was a good or bad kind of excited, you know?" The expression on her face said she knew but she didn't voice it.

"As long as they're ready to move at a minute's notice. Do you have the next scene in line?" She was asking about a crime scene. I killed them and add the messages while she provided the pictures I sent to BAST before she poisoned my computer.

"Of course, Kiwako." She beamed brightly at me before realizing something else.

"Before she fried your computer, I was going to come and ask you if you needed anything. I'm making a trip to the grocery store."

\---Chisuzu---

I was sipping my tea and watching L as he ate squares of some sort of melon type fruit, I couldn't tell in the dim lighting or distance.

A break from my screens had been his suggestion and the face he had made when I opened my mouth to protest had been unfair. Whether he wanted me to know it or not I could sense the worry in his actions and even his gaze on occasion. I had stopped crying as often but I had almost spent an entire week behind those screens searching for any scraps I could find with bloodshot eyes from lack of sleep.

Yesterday he had simply placed a hand on my shoulder to get my attention. My eyes flashed to him and he said nothing and instead carefully urged me out of my chair.

"As much as I appreciate your determination, you are not getting enough sleep. Your eyes haven't moved from that page in half an hour."

After he said that I have passed out.

I felt useless and helpless. Sending the virus had done its job, but now I was unable to contact them and there was no way in Hell I would allow my friends to walk out to their death.

Having sulked and pouted for long enough I stood and traipsed over to him, brushing his hair to the side and pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"I'm going to nap for a bit. Don't follow in my footsteps and overwork yourself in my stead now." When he leaned away from his laptop screen to grace me with one of his small smiles, I could only return it.

"Sleep well, Chisuzu." He drawled, staring back at me for a few more seconds before returning to the screen. I stood there for a little bit, waiting for him to move but then just dismissed myself.

My legs almost betrayed me when I saw the bed, cats following me in to see if I was okay. The bed felt ten times better than it had in a long time and half a dozen fluffy creatures hopped up after me. They curled up, surrounding me with their body heat.

This was nice.

Everything felt leaden and I could feel myself drifting, a feeling I had been fighting all too often for the past week.

I had to get some more sleep so I could help L solve this case. Not even the fear of being found by this obsessed killer could stop me from falling asleep now.

I awoke sometime later to the smell of mint tea, my stomach rumbling loudly. Had I been neglecting regular meals as well? I never did that. Body sluggish, I tried to wiggle around to wake my muscles up, only for someone behind me to grunt and the arm slung around me to pull me closer to a warm body. It molded around the back of mine and I smiled, still not completely used to having L seem so alright with touching someone or letting them see him sleep.

Turning as carefully as possible, I rolled over and snuggled into his chest. Suddenly, taking a break wasn't so bad.

"You're awake. You've been asleep for a while."

"How long is a while?"

"A little over fifteen hours." He admitted, looking down at me, scanning for my reaction.

"Must have really needed it. Did you make any progress?"

"I may have some unusual activity on one of the forums, but nothing really, so I took you up on your offer six hours ago." His half dazed, sleepy smile was adorable.

No one had ever seen him sleep during the Kira case, not really.

Moments like these were mine and I couldn't help but want to savor them. This time, I felt possessed as I pulled myself up to be level with him, his eyes following my movements. His hand was now on my lower back, lax as I smiled at him a little, a finger tracing his lips as he watched me with his curious face and his wide dark eyes.

Being so close to a man I admired and had an interest in, proving to be more than a crush, I wanted to kiss him. I had been wanting to for a long time, but usually cowered away from the idea. This time, waking up was different. This time I was still in the space between waking and sleeping. This time I kissed him.

"Good morning, L." I hummed, for the first time in a while wishing I could taste the sweetness that remained on his lips.

This case was no different than the others and the small display of skill they seemed to possess was short lived. My life did not feel at risk like the lives of my friends and L. The danger they were in because of me was what fueled me to find them.

I knew the best way to now.

The fatigue that had once hovered in L's eyes had vanished after our light exchange, now replaced with a kind of wonder and curiosity. Had I shocked him awake?

"Chisuzu." He finally said after a moments' silence.

"Yes?" I acknowledged, hiding my newfound worry.

His hand slid around the back of my head and he moved closer to me until our foreheads touched.

"I didn't get the full experience." He voiced, before his mouth closed over mine. Compared to his, the kiss I gave him had been more of a peck on the lips.

The more I questioned it, the more it was like him to do. The full experience was exploring, much like getting all the information one could from a verbal exchange or an interrogation.

"Good morning." He smiled, it was one of his own hidden ones and all I could do was stare and smile stupidly back.

Just because I needed to continue fighting back didn't mean I needed to start today, I could stand to soak up more of his attention.

For just a little while.


	18. No One Will Believe You

I wanted to be selfish, greedy, and just ignore all the horrid things going on outside this building. I knew L wouldn't let me and I knew L would become completely insane if he didn't have a case to work on. It was hard to accept sometimes, but it would be hard to transition him from cases to a semi-normal life.

While I stalled for time, I ended up doing some easier cases on the side.

Like the Alexa murders going around. The recently popular computerized voice service system was killing the occupants of specific houses it had been installed in.

They all started with her glitching out, the only notion they had been hacked. Apparently, it sounded like the computerized female voice had some kind of cold, coughing or stuttering before seeming just fine for another week or so. Then everyone would end up dead, Alexa having altered itself to release a more persuasive frequency to convince people to commit suicide using whatever was most convenient at the time.

The sound really just grated on my ears; I detested automated voice systems.

I got lucky as the two turned out to be connected. Almost all of them had been in the houses of ex-clients around the world, making it possible for them to use a long distance approach from any other database.

Any other computer with internet access.

My job had been to go in and trace every possessed Alexa; scuba diving into the data she had left behind after being hacked.

The name BAST was being framed for these murders, so I had to end them ASAP. Just because I was capable of doing things like this didn't mean I would.

But people loved their villains.

Usually, by this point, I would send my cats out to assist me but knew all or most would not return from their patrol.

This was all a nuisance, preventing me from doing as I wished. This was the conclusion I inevitably came to after thinking this case through. When L and I weren't playing chess or sleeping, we were working on this case.

On and off I would feel useless and depressed, unable to pinpoint our culprit in my search through Alexa as a whole. It was impossible to tell where they were, physically without the use of both my cats AND my hacking.

How many were there? What were they doing, and what did they think this would really accomplish?

I knew most of these answers. They were trying to coax me out from hiding, smoke me out like a fox using my usual means against me.

BAST was a name more infamous than before, but now I was insulted.

My only choice now was to go out and meet them head on. With this known and accepted, I left my refuge and took a bus to the nearest zoo. It was like being in jail and using your one phone call for that one unreliable family member you didn't like because you knew they'd be the only one still awake to pick up. I'd never liked the zoo, but it was my last resort.

The animal kingdom edition of an orphanage, except here, there was no age of leaving and living freely. They were trapped here for life surrounded by electric fences.

Now I was seated before the tiger exhibit, staring in at large, mournful eyes the color of the sun with half its intensity.

Talking to them as I sat here was like my last meal before my execution but I was ready.

Taking my leave and heading back some hours later, I could almost see them closing in even without my cat friends. My peripheral vision catching them before my normal sight did, but I smirked.

Best to make this easy.

I'd be more likely to wake up that way.

When my eyes opened, I blinked rapidly and scanned the room and my person. I was alive, naked and restrained, but alive.

'Well, what do you know...it worked.' I mused bitterly as I found Misa had been treated better than this from the get go. My legs were free but my arms were knotted behind me and with my luck turning bad, they were probably a Boy Scout; a really perverted one.

The chair was wooden and old, I could feel the splinters threatening my thighs and arms.

"Good morning." Said one. Two men were in the room with me and as I peered around, I realized I had been in this hotel before.

"I don't know why you would want to waste our time here. What if she isn't the only one?" As they spoke, I was sure of two things.

They were trying not to refer to one another by name and the first was here to rape me. I found the first funny as I recognized both of them from the get go, I was just surprised the first guy was out already.

I wasn't just assuming he was here to have his way with me, he was still supposed to be put away in a high-security facility for the rest of his life for the things he had done to women.

At first, I'd had a plan but if they didn't move fast enough, I was as good as dead...or worse with the look on Forrest Lee's face.

Lucky for me, he liked to beat his victims first; gave me some time to be saved.

"You think stripping me naked removes the threat? I was just at the zoo." I smiled, mischievously at their confused expressions, wiggling my toes.

Just keep them stalled and pretend you aren't nude.

"What are you talking about?" Forrest couldn't seem to help punching me in the face, the blow tossing my head in the opposite direction. I had never been hit by another human being before and knew I had drawn the short straw with this brute of a man.

"What do zoos have? What stops the animals from killing all the tourists?" I grinned, fighting the pain in my jaw.

"Fences." Said the other, not caring for the spectacle or his partner's violence. It was Kessinger, a conman who had only killed one man in his time before finding me. He'd seen my insurance on him and changed his name again, booking it for wherever he was now.

One of my first cases.

"Electric fences." I enunciated, having difficulty pronouncing the word naturally with the swelling the hit would cause.

"What of it?" Forrest demanded, his voice overwhelming my ears in the small room.

"You ever played zoo tycoon and deleted a less than random section of fencing?" My eyes were locked with the more docile of the two, Kessinger.

"That hit must have jostled her head, she's not making any sense." Forrest scoffed, his next hit catching my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. Obviously, neither of them were big on computers and couldn't be the ringleader.

They let me breathe for a moment and I tasted the blood in my mouth from biting my lip. If he had just been patient and waited, he'd have learned my laptop hadn't left with me when I left the zoo and how all the big cats there were heading this way.

It was the biggest clue I could give L.

"Where's your boss? On his way to talk to me, I hope." I asked, wiping the blood on my lip on my shoulder.

"The guy paying us is in the building, taking orders from some weird chick," Forrest grunted, despite the look Kessinger gave him.

"Relax, she's not getting out of here. She sure as hell won't be able to talk her way out and she has no way of contacting anyone." The larger man rolled his eyes as he explained it to Kessinger.

"Just remember they want her conscious." Kessinger scolded.

"If you leave, I should still have plenty of time to get to know her better."

"I doubt they'd like having more of a mess to clean up and you're not known for being very cleanly." I had been distracted by Kessinger, the closest thing to a saving grace right now, and Forrest had come up and sliced into one of my arms, leaving cleaner lines than expected as the stinging morphed into burning and I bit back the scream as tears dropped freely from my face. Focusing on the end game, I got quiet. The only reason I hadn't brought my personal army of domestics was because I feared the casualty number.

"What did I tell you about harming her before I arrived?" The unknown voice was male and when I glanced towards him, I saw the wispy girl trailing after him.

Must be the ringmaster...

Good.

...L...

For a moment all I could do was stare at the screen of the television, I had just turned on at Watari's urgent request.

"As you can see behind me, there seems to be a stampede of tigers, leopards, and lions from the local zoo here in Tokyo," The camera panned over the zoo's banner before returning to the woman's face.

"They're not only moving quickly, but they also seem to all be heading to the same location." She got into a news van and they began following the herd.

Before leaving, Bast had said she was going to visit the zoo and meet up with a friend who might be in danger. She even had a bag with a laptop with her.

I shouldn't have let her leave with how strange she was acting.

Dammit.

"Watari, is the NPA already heading after them?"

"Some are with protective gear and are wary of the cats, yes. Shall I bring the car around?"

"Yes." Who knew what they were doing to her?

I knew why I had let her go, though. She was doing as she said she would and using any means necessary.

In this instance, it was using herself as bait. She'd hacked the zoo's electrically operated gates and released all the jungle cats.

Now they were following her scented trail to where she was being held and I planned to follow suit.

\---Chisuzu---

This guy, Hiroya, had just asked me why I had sought after Light and I told him why.

"It suited my needs at the time; a much-needed puzzle." I muttered, not really knowing how to stall people in interrogation like settings involving life and death.

"Were you alone?" At this, I grinned, my hearing picking up something interesting going on some floors below.

It wouldn't be long now and I was grateful, I had lost a decent amount of blood.

"Not really no. I had my cats."

"That sounds really sad." The female, Kiwako, sneered.

This was getting to be really boring, ridiculously painful, and even annoying.

"I think followers of Light are sadder, you know since he lost to someone with an ace up their sleeve."

"What are you talking about? And what the Hell is going on down there?!" She screeched, making me flinch.

This was all I had to do this entire time...no one else would have died if I had just thought of this scenario sooner.

People, cats, unborn children, all dead because I was scared and lazy.

L and I had been right this whole time, the only thing we hadn't taken into account was the chance of the violent male lead taking orders from the object of his affections.

"I already told you. I was just at the zoo messing around on my laptop."

Kessinger, the smartest one here I could wager, eyeing me.

"You don't want to believe it, but it's true. They're my friends." I explained, holding Kiwako's gaze when it snapped back to me.

"They say a lot of things about Bast..." Kessinger whispered to himself.

"Don't be stupid. There's no way she's psychic or anything like that." Forrest snapped, yet his eyes never left the floor, following the noise as it increased in decibel.

"You're right. I'm not psychic, nothing so cliché." I still couldn't believe he killed them just to anger me. Here I thought they knew my secret and killed them to blind me, so to speak.

What a letdown.

"Not even L believed me at first." I nodded my understanding.

"Shut up!" Kiwako boomed, louder than I had thought possible for such a small frame. My eyes fell on Kessinger and I smiled, hearing them reach this floor.

"Perhaps it's for the best. If you survive, no one will believe you."

I had barely finished my sentence when growling started outside the door, steps heavy with purpose. It nudged the door a little before roaring out and clawing at it.

"Is that a... lion?" Forrest's voice awe even as it shook with fear. My head hurt and I could feel myself losing consciousness.

I'd better survive this.

Speaking now out of the question, I just watched everyone as we waited. The clawing bearing fruit as the door splintered against the weight of the animal, creating a hole just before it broke through.

"Remember, no killing." I gasped out before my vision blurred.

I woke to an EKG machine beeping, my head throbbing like I had spent too long in the mind of Miss Marple.

Giving myself a quick scan, I found I was covered up and bandaged, my arm like that of a mummy.

There were actual signs of the pain, this time, the only difference from a little too much 'free roaming'.

I saw black to my right as my vision cleared, getting used to being exposed to so much light.

"How are you feeling?" He was seated in his usual manner, hands on his knees.

"A little worse than hungover. Everything hurts but I'll live."

"Good. We could have found them without you going off on your own. You got impatient." He began to scold me but gave up when he saw my disbelieving face.

"Are we at the hospital?" It didn't smell like one.

"No, the medical attention you needed was minimal. Just some blood and bandaging." L nonchalantly summarized.

"Did they all survive?"

"Yes, it would seem so. Some are rather mangled, but they will live."

Good. Satisfied with his reply, I closed my eyes but felt his stare burn through me.

"What is it L? We won, be happy."

"I was...relieved when I saw you breathing and hopeful when Watari said your injuries were minor."

"Luck." I wanted to shrug before a question hit me.

"How did you know my blood type?" I don't remember using my real one in Loralie's.

"I just gave you some of mine. Do not worry, Chisuzu, I am a universal donor so your well-being was not at risk."

Of course, he was...

"I'm assuming you managed to miraculously get there before the NPA."

"Not exactly, but having connections to respected members proved useful." He gave a little smirk, the first positive expression I had seen since waking.

"No one hurt the animals at the zoo, did they?"

"Not a single casualty. It would seem they're famous now...for saving you without even knowing where you were." His familiar light-hearted tone made me smile, cringing at the sharp pain in my jaw.

"Did Watari feed my cats while I was out?"

"No, I did. Speaking of food..." The next thing I knew, I was smelling meat.

"What's that?" L was holding up a bag, still hot and also containing something salty; French fries.

"I asked Watari to get you something in case you woke up. It is evening and I know it has been a while since you last ate." He could take all the cases he wanted, I needed a break and the bag in his hand was a good start in my book.

"Please do not be mean and tease me with food. I'm in pain and helped solve a case." I turned away from him for a second to wipe drool onto my opposite shoulder. A bath was going to be needed and soon.

"So, I've only been out for a few hours?"

"Yes, do you need anything for the pain?"

"Yes, just half an oxycodone or hydrocodone will do. A whole one will make me loopy."

"It was all over the news."

"That was the goal." I nodded.

"With fewer casualties...there were no casualties. It was like they had been given orders..." L didn't have to ask, he knew I had spoken to the cats while at the zoo and told them of my plot.

Specifically...'If you find yourselves freed, come and find me. I may be in danger.'

"I imagine it looked like a scene out of Jumanji." I smiled to myself and giggled a little at his confused expression. The pain in my jaw didn't allow for my laugh to last very long.

"What is that?"

"A movie we should watch some time while I heal."

It only took about a week for the cuts on my arm to heal, but it meant I would require assistance bathing.

It was interesting to say the least.

I stared at L, at odds with myself about asking for his assistance as I couldn't imagine the awkwardness of asking Watari.

Not a chance.

"Do you need something, Chisuzu? You've been staring at me for the past five minutes." He returned my gaze for a minute before glancing at his cake.

"I'd give you some, but you said yourself you can't taste it."

"That isn't what I was going to ask about." I smiled a little at his own way of breaking the ice for my request.

"I wish to take a bath and I will need some help." If this affected him at all, it wasn't shown outwardly as he only stared at me, taking another forkful of cake and stuffing it into his mouth.

"What do you mean? You type just fine with one hand." L muttered, mouth still full.

It was funny when I thought about how any of my exes would have jumped at the opportunity to see me naked. L heard this and thought of a rational reason I may not really need him.

"I'm not asking you to bathe with me. I just can't redress my arm with one hand, same with undressing and dressing." This was why I struggled with getting the words out before,

My mother would have given me a lecture about this. I couldn't think of the words exactly, but she would have.

"Would playing a few games of chess while I'm bathing help?" I almost didn't detect his eyes wander over my figure before he shook his head.

"It would be best if we weren't in the same room for lengthy periods of time while you're naked." Listening to him say this made me smile. My only explanation being his speech pattern, mostly his random pausing points. I might have been offended if I didn't know better.

"Alright. What about if you help me undress, wash my back, and dress. I can ask Watari to redress my bandages." The stitches were still in and I wasn't allowed to get them wet for longer than a brief shower and those were out of the question.

"I doubt I would be much help."

"Are you willing to try?"

"You are uncomfortable."

"I am very uncomfortable. I do not like going seventy-two hours without a bath. It is bothersome and I can smell myself."

L took a moment to ponder, his eyes never leaving my face.

"I assure you I will not ask you for this kind of help in any other situation. Just until my stitches are removed." I knew he bathed regularly but it was always a begrudging act for him, a necessary nuisance as it were.

He never seemed to sweat and I often pictured an invisible bubble, like a second skin on a cellular level and it prevented him from having to worry about outer bacteria provoking his sweat glands.

"Very well." I blinked and perked up, hopeful.

"You know, L, I appreciate you agreeing to do this, but I'm still shocked you're so disinterested in seeing your girlfriend's nude form."

"I respect you and still feel somewhat guilty you felt the need to go this far to solve a case. I was scared for you." His honesty was quiet but shocked me none the less. It was still uncommon for me to hear him answer me like that. How was I supposed to react?

"They were killing my friends." And there ended the conversation.

"When was the last time you spoke to the children at Whammy's?" I question as he gently unwinds the bandages and peels away the wet gauze, his method of holding things more useful here.

"Let's see...it would have to be when I mentioned the likelihood of my death and their purpose as gifted young ones; my successors should I fail."

"Do they ask you questions?"

"N and M do not...it was mostly the other children. Near is very quiet and Mello has troubles not letting his emotions getting the better of him. They have a lot of potential as a team." To prevent irritation and pain from my clothes rubbing against the bandages, I took to wearing T-shirts, tank tops, and loose sleeved long sleeve shirts.

All of it was easy to remove in the mornings, but I still had troubles with it. The risk of opening the stitches by incident always weighed on my mind and made me extra careful.

I needed my arm, mostly my hand.

"It's a good thing I don't care about scars. If my mother saw this, she would've freaked about me never being able to marry because I had a visible imperfection."

"Those were views I never understood. There is nothing wrong with having a scar." L mused.

"Well, I'm glad you think so. It would be horrid if you suddenly rejected me because of a reaction to something I did impulsively."

He had already meticulously helped me out of my bra and was pointedly letting his eyes wander to other areas of the room, refusing to look at me. It was hard enough to look at him holding my bra like he holds everything and doing that. It was like he was a worried pervert, who hadn't thought of an escape route.

Almost as good as our conversation about bras that one time.

"You can drop that anywhere. It's ok." I had my back to him as I drew the bath, keeping an eye on the water level.

Suddenly, I felt his hand on my back and felt my breath hitch as he trailed a few of his fingers down my spines, moving lightly over each individual vertebrae. The pads of his fingers were soft and a little cold. They swept down to my waist before sliding back up to play with the tips of my hair.

My hands were covering my breast, nipples hardening from both the cold and the feel of his fingertips ghosting along the atlas and axis of my cervical spine, the somatic stimulation making my head tilt back reflexively.

Then he was next to me, shutting off the water and helping me into the tub. I sat like before, with my knees pulled up to my chest. Did he know what he had done? Had it been on purpose? Peaking over my good shoulder, I saw him lathering a wash cloth with my mint body wash before placing the warm material on my back.

We locked eyes and he let a playful smile show, telling me he knew. L was sneakier than many gave him credit for.

Like when he had taken Misa's cell phone.

At this moment, he seemed more brazen than I was and my whole body felt hot.

This was a strange table turning experience I hadn't been expecting.

From where he was, I knew he could see the goose bumps on my arms, running down my back. I knew he couldn't see my face reddening but he might as well have been able to.

"How does your arm feel?"

"No pain unless I touch it or move wrong. Even then, it's just a dull throb."

"It's healing right then. Go ahead and get your hair wet." He hadn't moved and I had an awkward time dunking my head back, under the water without getting my right arm wet.

Why was I trying to cover myself when I knew he'd already seen me nude? I stopped being so modest for his sake and gave up hiding my body when it just made moving in the tub more difficult than I had to be.

Then his hands were in my hair and I let out a low moan as his hands massaged my scalp. It was like he had done this before.

L was acting mercifully by not saying anything about my odd actions or about my body, he was just silent. I appreciated that right now and tried not to say anything to start up a conversation, releasing my knees from my chest and letting them straighten some, tilting my head back to make it easier to get my bangs without getting shampoo in my eyes.

This was definitely the most intimate bath I had ever had.

"Chisuzu?" I had been staring at him again, from my spot lounging in a recliner, laptop before me, my stitches having been removed the day before.

It was good to be able to game safely again.

"Sorry...just zoning out. I was remembering something." Like how careful he had been helping me out of the tub again. It hadn't been a sexual moment, just intimate and, like just about every other moment we'd had, it was as new for me as a relationship was for him.

He was doing a good job to say the least.

"Are you tired? You just did it again. What are you thinking about?" L never usually had to ask someone what they were thinking because typically he either already knew or had no interest in knowing.

"I was just thinking about the bath I had a few days ago. I never knew you had that side to you." I smiled and he just watched me.

"But now that you mention it, I am also curious as to the progress our NPA friends have made with the four criminals now in their care?"

"They keep saying they heard you tell them not to kill them. They mention it's the only way they lived. No one believes them because it doesn't make sense and those may have been zoo animals but they were still animals."

"Yeah, and who would believe a girl can talk to animals?" I smirked, sharing a knowing gaze with L.

"No one, but they've been forced to put them all on suicide watch because they're still in so much pain they try to put themselves out of their misery."

Good.

I sat back and continued from where I had left off on 'The First Strike'.

\----------------

Letting you all know this is not the final chapter and I will be writing a number of bonus ones. For those interested, you can even message me suggestions for a chapter theme and if I can write it, I will and dedicate the chapter to you as credit. :)

Finally, for those of you who wish to see a picture of what Bast looks like, I requested a commission and it is this.

Painting by Tinselswan. Thank you all for reading.

Aza out.


	19. [Bonus] Liquid Courage

[Bonus] Liquid Courage [Bonus]

Sometime during the Mockery of Bast, I was very excited and distracted by myself.

With sake.

Lots of sake.

There have been many things wrong with this and I have an inkling of them all. I struggled to walk like a normal and failed miserably.

"Chisuzu." Here we go.

"Yes?" I asked, how do you know when you are? The detective in question stared at me for a moment; assess me.

Was it surprised to see me this way? While it was true, I did not partake in even an occasional drink, the phrase was rather amusing at the moment.

Just about everything was amusing, actually.

L didn't reply for a time and I found myself distracted by a few kittens playing with a very red feather on a long spring. Then a thought occurred to me and I was unable to resist it.

"L, when you and Light were handcuffed together, what were the sleeping arrangements?"

Now he stood and moseyed over to where the kittens were playing and picked up the feather toy, seating himself across from me and teasing them with it.

"I hardly slept for most of it and he kept a cot near my chair. By the expression on your face, I'm going to assume this isn't the answer you wanted to hear, but it's true."

Well, that's no fun.

"What caused you to choose the bottle this afternoon?" He questioned casually and I frowned, not wanting to really talk about it.

...L...

Her eyes trained on the feather bouncing dangerously on the thin metal spring and I watched her, trying to think of a way to cheer her up.

From the look of it, she was so far gone she wouldn't remember this in the morning.

"Do you remember Light's face? The one he made when he realized you had beaten him?" Without fail, a smile broke out across her once gloomy exterior. Chisuzu was dressed in her usual garb with socks up to her thighs under a yukata I surmised she had put on after awakening.

I saw no other possibility.

"Would you happen to have to have any ice pops?" She asked, not seeming to have heard. Figuring I wasn't going to get any answers unless I adhered to her current requests, I stood from my spot to check.

Careful to not hand her anything with dairy in it, I found a blueberry ice pop stored with some other variously flavored ones. Knowing she wouldn't be able to taste its sweetness made no difference as it was the timing of her request that threw me off.

It was still pretty cool out.

"I just wanted something cold. Thank you." She smiled as she accepted the treat.

"You're welcome." I considered the consequences of my next query before voicing it.

"What were things like before?"

Her eyes glanced up and she smiled a genuine smile this time rather than her usual polite one.

"What's your oldest family memory?"

"Helping my mom do laundry. She would always fold the clothes that were too big and while she was folding the rest, I'd chase the fish in our neighbor's koi pond. It was so strange, like an entirely different dimension for a time. She didn't encourage me to be different, but she did let me have fun up until I was about nine or so."

"What else?" She may be slurring but she was smiling wistfully at the memories and I decided it would have to do. At least she was no longer depressed.

"She used to brush my hair after every bath I'd have. It was always such a soothing feeling." It must have encouraged a subconscious habit.

Then the daze was lost from her eyes and I feared she had sobered quickly at the memories, when really she was just looking at me.

"You're kind of dumb for a genius, but in a different way."

"Oh?" This had to be good.

"Yes. What kind of man has to ask why a woman did something for him? Especially, when she's been around him for so long and through a case like the Kira case. Did you know I don't even like talking to people all that much? I find it tedious yet here I am ranting away at you." Her giggle made me smile a little. I could respond more honestly while she was in such a vulnerable drunken state.

And I did know, it was proven during the Kira case.

"I didn't risk my life to save yours just because I wanted my way." She frowned at her own words before eyeing the feather in my hand again, following it with her mismatched eyes.

"Well, part of it was but it's obviously not the only reason I did it."

"Because you secretly believe in doing what's right?"

"There's no secret about that, but no. It's because I love you." She grinned as if she had just unleashed some imaginary ace up her sleeve...and in a way she had.

How had I overlooked that?

'On purpose, that's how.' I hadn't been completely dumb to her possible interest, but didn't want to presume anything.

Despite how even I knew friends of the opposite sex didn't typically sleep in the same bed to comfort one another. Despite our agreed upon relationship, it was similar to my friendship with Light; unorthodox and atypical (At first I had recommended it simply to have a reason to be around her more). And finally, despite her having risked her life to keep me from ending up six feet underground.

For fear of getting my hopes up, I had remained in a cloud of denial.

"Do you love me, L?" I leveled my gaze on her, knocked back temporarily by her forward question. If she wasn't so intoxicated then maybe things would have been different.

"Yes, Chisuzu, I love you." Tumbled from my mouth, the words weren't nearly as scared as they could have been.

"I knew it." The corners of her eyes crinkled as she beamed brightly at me and I found myself scrutinizing the look, acquitting it to memory before shaking the feather in front of her face, lucratively sidetracking her.

Her lips had been too appealing in that moment, prompting me to kiss her. I only refrained for doing so because of...well...

I looked at here again, eyes zeroed in on the bright red tuft, shifting to keep it in her sights. Chuckling despite myself, I was sure to remember this as well.

There was more than one way to take advantage of a rare situation.

\---Chisuzu---

Why does my head hurt so badly? I felt as though I had been hit by a bus...in a manner of speaking.

"There are some Aspirin and water on the table to your right." L's voice was soft and I appreciated it in the midst of my migraine.

No, I was hungover.

Searching him out as I popped the little white and red capsule and knocked back the water just as I had the sake however long ago.

"What happened?"

"Nothing really. You came stumbling down the steps and the next thing I know, you've passed out on the couch." L mumbled, dismissively as he toyed with a red feather on a spring.

Huh.

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Hello dears,

Aza here. What do you think of this little short? Let me know below and remember to message me if you have any ideas for a bonus chapter. ^ _ ^


	20. [Bonus]Lemons Aren't Just Fruit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello dears, Aza here. I doubt I really need to do this after the rating change but here's your warning. There's a lemon here for you as requested by someone mentioning how there weren't many lemons with LxOC.

We were on another case, but I was currently too out of it to really pay attention to anything but the back of L's head. He was eye deep in information, scouting diligently for any irregularities and I...

Well, I was immensely frustrated and knew I would be no help in my current state.

"Chisuzu." L started and I zeroed in on his voice, my ears nearly flickering like those of my four legged friends. It had been a year since the solving of the Kira case and my relationship with L had progressed plenty in every sense but the physical.

This was where I paused, unknowing was I to any sexual experience he may have, so I had started slowly and gained his trust and affection. In a way, I felt I may have moved at a pace too slow but it could also be my sexual frustration talking.

"Yes?"

"Did you want to say something? You've been staring at me for about ten minutes now." His voice, to an outsider, was nonchalant and casual but I had learned better. The problem was I didn't know if he knew the full extent of my need.

"You're a smart man, L. You tell me." My crankiness was only the tip of the iceberg. Yes, I had been raised to be a lady and all the things and traits my mother had felt required; proper. It didn't stop me from having the ability to desire a man.

And, dammit, I wanted L.

"I actually had a question for you." His words used to only be pleasant yet now I nearly hung on his every word, his voice sultrier in tone; more appealing in frequency. It affected me so strongly, my body's immediate reaction was to act as though I had been doused with cold water or left out in the winter. I was lucky to wear so many clothes on a regular basis to hide the hardening of my nipples and the goose bumps prickling along my skin with just his voice.

Just his voice, and I was the only one who appeared outwardly affected.

"Fire away."

"You're very much like a cat in habit and, in some ways, appearance. Tell me, did you also inherit a heat cycle?" His words never wavered. No nervousness, no shudder of discomfort.

Nothing.

"You would think so, but humans all have their own wiring, typically independent of one another until synchronized, in a manner of speaking. Cats are more run by animal instinct, whereas humans...perhaps the closest feeling to it is one's impulsiveness."

"I see. You haven't really been listening to what I've been saying in regards to the case." He muttered, the presence of logic hovering irritatingly. I didn't want him to think.

"You've been hearing it but it goes through one ear and out the other. You seem much more distracted than any other instance I have seen you in." He continued and I just listened, focusing on the tone of his voice. I could decipher the feeling and pattern as his, one of musing while amused.

Or teasing but it didn't seem as like him and I grew worried again, like every other time my thoughts came to this possible conclusion.

L may not have an interest in me sexually. To him, kisses and cuddles may be enough, but I wanted him to touch me and make love to me. The only thing stopping me was this newly haunting fear.

I felt myself stand and approach him, the reluctance of each step the only proof of my insecurity. My eyes were clouded, I knew. It was the only part of my face I had never completely taught how to lie.

When he climbed out of his chair, I felt a surge of something in my chest but did not know how to refer to it. It seemed like something along the lines of anticipation and anxiety.

Unlike mine, his dark eyes gave away nothing of his thoughts, irking me. When he drew nearer, I felt breathing become more difficult, my body leaning towards his without me controlling it. From this proximity, I could catch the faintest scent of soap, coffee, and fruit.

The sensation of warmth not my own glided to my cheek, caressing and I leaned into the feeling. The next was a more familiar feeling of his lips on mine soft and inviting. I greedily accepted, pressing myself closer to him as I craved more. As much as I enjoyed kissing him, right now it was more like a salve. The electricity of our chemistry had, at first, intrigued him and now I would use it as a lure.

I drew us gradually backward towards the couch, succeeding without injuring one or both of us with luck and scraps of memory.

Every once in a while, when we were lounging together or on a case, L would sometimes touch me. He'd draw circles idly on my knee, back, or stomach without even knowing he was doing so. Or maybe he knew and was just enjoying the feeling as much I did.

Perhaps this was what had encouraged him to dexterously remove my yukata without stopping to see what he was doing. To the less experienced hand, doing this without looking can be nearly impossible, but L had proved something many a time.

His habits may seem odd at times but he was good with his hands. I'd watched him examine things before with envy laden eyes.

L may have been raised to be a gentleman, but after a time his kisses had grown to be more demanding, his hands gripping at the flesh of my hips to guide me back while keeping me close, only roaming when we eventually reached the couch.

He reluctantly pulled away, eyes half lidded and darker when I hadn't thought it possible. I took a moment as he hovered over me, catching his breath as I ran a hand over his cheek and up into his hair. L had somehow managed to regain his breath before me after he'd removed his shirt, and had placed kisses down my neck, starting from my ear. I arched towards him more at every kiss he feathered down my torso, his hands on my breasts, fingers tracing over and around my nipples.

This had been more than I had originally expected from him as L was not one to have a knack for things physical.

Aside from fighting.

Maybe there was something about it I hadn't really considered, but I didn't care as long as he kept at it. It was the lighter touches that sent shivers and tremors of pleasure over me, like his hands ghosting down the skin encasing my ribs and along my hips...before stopping.

My clothes were typically harder to get out of and usually warm enough to wear. I also didn't have a knack for wearing anything underneath. He stood for a moment, and I was cold the second he pulled away. Thoughts weren't really something I was capable of now and I found myself not caring why he had gotten up (even though it was for the greater good of removing the rest of his clothes) all I knew was he and I weren't touching anymore.

"L." His name came out in a whimper and he didn't give me enough time to complain as he came back, pulling me into a kiss as he urged me into to his lap. I complied immediately and straddled him, focusing on the feel of his skin under my hands. Only while touching him, could I tell he was stronger than he looked without witnessing his fight with Light that day over a year ago. My breath hitched when I felt his erection under my thigh and I moaned when his mouth closed over one of my nipples, toying with my body the way he did his food.

My hips ground against his, reflexively, as I grew needier, so close to what I wanted. Who I wanted. It had been years since I felt this way and I indulged in the high, a surge of endorphins running through me.

His eyes met mine again and neither of us said a word. Without breaking eye contact, one of his hands moved tentatively to the apex of my thighs and I gasped and bucked my hips when I felt the rough pad of a finger slide over my sex to my clit, testing my wetness.

An ache started where he'd touched, demanding fulfillment.

L's eyes questioned mine as I felt him at my entrance. Locking my thighs on either side of him, I gripped the couch and his shoulder before sinking onto his length.

Pain stilled me for only a few seconds as it had been a long time since I'd had sex. Large hands latched onto my hips again to stop me, and I knew he'd seen my pain.

"I'll be fine." I breathed with my head on his shoulder, sinking lower as he let out a low moan, nails digging into me.

Our pace was slow for a while at first, but then this floaty heat in my abdomen was becoming too much, I needed a release. As we moved against one another, I remembered feeling fascinated again, this time for his stamina. Then he hit a bundle of nerves somewhere and I was gone, my body reeling in spasms of pleasure.

He kept moving as I came, and without really meaning to, I bit his shoulder as the intensity of my release became too much.

When he followed after me, I nuzzled my face into his neck; sated and happy. Soon after, we cuddled on the couch, L having pulled down a blanket from it back and over our bodies. He kissed my forehead and I remembered my question.

"Have you done that before?" Slurred from me. 

"Yes, once." When I stared at his now sleepy face, his gave me a mischievous little smile.

"A story for another time, I think," L muttered, kissing me once more before sleep overtook us both.


	21. [Bonus] Some Random Flufff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A request.

I had been out and about with one of my younger feline friends, Murdoch, searching for a Christmas gift for L when it happened.

Rain, in sheets.

Typically, I was more aware and could smell it minutes before it occurred, but today I had been too preoccupied.

The thing about rain and most cats was the same with regular water. Their coats weren't insulated. The thing with me and rain/showers was I hated water falling on me, it was enough to send me into a sort of panic mode. I grabbed the little tomcat, Murdoch, and ran. After a short time, I ducked into a shop and bought an umbrella while Murdoch tucked himself into my fleece lined bag, one I brought along in case he got tired of running around with me.

I took the quickest route home, umbrella in one hand and the bag with Murdoch in the other.

It was colder than usual for a December in Japan. The rain was relatively normal but the temperature was not and I worried about Murdoch getting sick.

When I had first found the little thing, he'd had a limp from taking a hard hit on a concrete corner while he was younger. Matlock had found him and brought him to me by his scruff so I could nurse him back to health.

Now, I was sopping wet outside the door of the building. My clothes were just as bad, but I hoped Murdoch hadn't gotten wet.

My steps made squishy sloshing sounds as I stepped inside, letting my umbrella drop to the floor. Relief warmed me temporarily when I saw Murdoch was dry for the most part.

"I'm back." I called lightly, stepping out of my drenched shoes as the door shut behind me.

"Welcome back, Chisuzu." L soothed, distracting me from my cold state as he shuffled into the foyer on bare feet. There was a towel on his arm.

"You should change your clothes before you catch a cold." He continued, eyes following my coat as I shrugged it off and to the floor. I had ventured out without a disguise and had only thrown on a dress before the coat.

My socks were gross and soggy, so I bent forward and yanked them off, adding them to the pile. My teeth were chattering as I shivered. L padded towards me as I stood, drying my hair.

"You should remove your dress, with Watari's recommendation I left a robe here for you. It was just removed from the dryer." He suggested softly as he lifted the deep green fluffy article, and I nodded. Slipping the straps of my dress from my arms, I let it drop to my feet before stepping out of it and towards him. Even as I was only in my underclothes, L's face was a mask, seemingly unperturbed by my nudity as he helped me into the robe.

Quickly sliding off my still damp bra, I left my underwear on and pulled the robe around me, nearly burrowing into the soft fabric. My teeth were still chattering as L held his hand out for me to take.

"There's tea prepared in the other room." He was smiling a little now and I properly tied the robe closed before taking his hand.

The scent of peppermint tea reached me as we entered the room and I noted the fireplace going.

This was new.

"Would you like for me to dry your hair more?" At the sound of his voice, I peered at him curiously. There was something odd in his voice I had been hearing more of as of late; uncertainty.

L was trying to do things he wasn't used to and now appeared to be scanning my reaction.

"I would like that." I smiled, encouragingly, noticing his movements were still fluid but held an ever so slight hesitation before them.

There were even a few packages of peppermint candy on the table. Of course, one was open and already about a quarter empty.

"Your dislike for rain is incredible, especially when you consider your love of thunder and lightning." He mentioned as he began, seated on the couch beside me. Whether or not he openly reacted to me naked, I knew I affected him.

When he kissed my forehead after drying my hair, I smiled brightly to assure him he was doing well.

"Don't push yourself, L. Just let things fall where they may. Is cuddling out of the question?" My own voice seemed to startle him as I reached up and caressed his cheek.

"Of course not." His answer was nearly immediate as he snagged the already opened peppermint bag and got comfortable by the arm of the couch, collecting me and pulling me with him. After recovering from his sudden action, I snuggled closer to his warmth.

Sometimes it seemed he just needed someone or something to hold for comfort, like a pet or a stuffed animal.

I was more than alright with being his stuffed animal.

"Your nose is red, are you feeling alright?"

"Yes. I feel fine." Then I sneezed three times in a row.

Shoot!

In the end, it turned out I had a fever and L chose to nurse me back to health, still getting into bed with me even though I was sick.

It may have also been his way of apologizing to me for the steamy hot shower water he'd used to help break my fever. Being already prone to illness, I had all the signs: fever, achy appendages, dizziness upon standing, runny nose, fatigue, coughing, sneezing, but no vomiting (thankfully).

L being like just about every other man I had encountered, appeared to naturally radiate heat and warmth.

I remember my first day lying there, my head on a towel covered pillow after he'd hit me with hot water, under an electric blanket; glaring daggers at him.

"I know you don't like what I did, but I only did it to try and break your fever."

Silence. I had already blown my nose as much as I could, gargled honey and apple cider vinegar, and been drinking more nice hot peppermint tea and water.

"Can we still continue to cuddle? I'll share my body heat with you to keep you warm to further bring your fever down." My ears perked at his words and my eyes widened as he began to remove his shirt.

"What are you doing?"

"My body heat will reach you faster if there is skin contact. If you dislike the idea, I could run another steamy shower and give you a sponge bath while you sit in a chair." My face heated at his flippant wording and I found myself unable to get any words out.

"Since I doubt you will be trusting me in the bathroom with you again, I'll just get under the covers with you. Do you have any objections?" He was on the other side of the bed, shirt off as he waited. His oversized white shirts really hid him well. He wasn't buff but he also wasn't lacking in muscle tone. Plus, he had slight 'guy hips', which I had always found attractive.

Rather than say anything to embarrass myself, I just stared and shook my head vigorously.

"Very well."

For some reason, I was always expecting him to feel cold when his flush met mine, but I was greeted with comforting heat instead.

"How come you never seem to get sick, L?" I uttered and he was contemplative for a moment.

"I can't get sick for a number of reasons, the main two being I get all my shots in secret and I don't go outside when the weatherman says it's going to rain when it is uncharacteristically cold in December. I also take my vitamins but don't ask Watari or he'll know he's not very good at being sneaky around me anymore."

"He puts them in your sweets?"

"Yes, and he doesn't know I can tell the difference now."

"That is rather paternal in its own way."

"It is, isn't it?" I could hear the smile in his voice before I fell asleep.

The next morning, I felt loads better and L hadn't moved much, the heat of his flesh still against mine.

"Good morning, L."

"Good morning, Chisuzu."

"You're not sick."

"No, no, I'm not. How about you? Are you feeling any better?" He looked so tired and I smiled back at him sleepily, snuggling into his warmth.

"Yeah, a little."

 

\-------

FUN BAST FACT: For those of you who made it this far, I thought I should let you know I originally had Bast with really long hair to play with and groom every day, but long hair and wigs aren't a very practical mixture so I gave her a bob.

Aza out.


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